Faith, Trust, and Nanite Dust
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: One-shots of theories I have for the show. Based around what was said about Cesar in "Written in Sand".
1. Faith, Trust, and Nanite Dust

**A/N: The title popped into my head and I've always wanted to explore these possibilities. But I haven't been able to. So I'll shove all my thoughts into a one-shot. The hardest part I had with writing this was choosing the point of view. Which is Rex's. It was hard to pick between third-person and first-person…**

**Disclaimer: No, don't own anything. Not yet, anyways. Whole thing inspired by the episode "Written in the Sand".**

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><p><em><span>Faith, Trust, and Nanite Dust<span>_

"Holiday?"

She looks up at me with those eyes full of questions as I stand in the open doorway to her office. Her pen stops in the middle of a word. She doesn't get mad that I'm interrupting her work. She's patient like that. "What is it, Rex?" It's almost like she can sense that something's bothering me. She's so nice...

"Can I talk to you?" One hand holds my other arm. Because I don't want to talk, but I can't turn to anyone else. I'm scared because there are two sides to the tale, two sides of the coin. I don't know which one will fall yet. There's heads and tails. I like the thought of heads falling, being able to put my faith into what I hope is true, but if tails is my reality...

Her smile could light up an entire city. She says nothing, but I know I can come in. So I take one step inside and lean against her desk after pressing the button that'll shut the door behind me. "What's on your mind?" She knows me all too well...

"I told you what Van Kleiss said in the desert, right?" I know I've told her, but I just sort of want to start by setting the stage for this discussion. I'm scared to voice my fears because that only makes them that much more concrete, but if I keep them to myself, I'm afraid I'll start becoming paranoid about everything. I'm already watching my back wherever I go.

Holiday nods quietly and her face changes just slightly. She was gentle when I walked in, probably expecting a girl problem. Circe and Annie have been my two most recent dramas. The fact that I'm dating someone that I don't even care about and the one I do care about could be anywhere... That's another thing that bothers me a lot when I'm alone with my thoughts. But now, Holiday's face hardens just slightly, her cheeks growing a bit more pale and her stunning sea foam green eyes becoming more stony. It's really only a subtle change, but I notice. "What about it?"

"Who do you think's telling the truth?"

I'm genuinely scared right now. I could be related to the person who ruined the whole world. Cesar's my brother. I've wanted to learn about my family for years now, but there's a bump in the road. A lie and a truth. Two roads diverged not in a yellow wood, but in my life. I could be related to the one who caused the whole nanite event. And Van Kleiss would be, for once, telling the truth. I'm not sure what's scarier.

I don't know which one to trust. I'm afraid that Van Kleiss is just messing with me, but then again, ZAG-RS's memory dump... And Cesar _isn't _right... There's a lie somewhere in the midst of all this chaos, but finding it is going to be next to impossible. Which is why I want to ask Holiday.

Holiday knows everything. She knows how to fix my nanites. She knows how to make the hurt go away. She knows how to make everything alright. And I trust her to know what's the truth and what are lies.

Holiday seems to mull this over for a long moment. Her lips purse quietly and her gaze is distant as she focuses on the question at hand. She does that sometimes, spacing out and forgetting that there's a real world around her. I don't mind. I'd do that too if I could. Reality isn't always the best place to be.

She keeps staring until her conclusion is finally found. It only takes a few minutes and I'm silent the entire time. Holiday then looks at me almost pitifully. I can sort of read it in her eyes that she doesn't have an answer for me. There's something unreadable clouding her vision. "I don't know, Rex." She rests her chin in her palm and lets out a little sigh. "There could be any number of possibilities for this. Cesar could be telling the truth and Van Kleiss could be trying to get you to hate him to be sure you have no real reason to stay here. You'd go over to his side. Or-" Another sigh. This one was a bit more mournful, laced with sadness. "-Cesar is the real reason behind the nanite event and we're aiding and abetting the most wanted man in the world."

I feel my lips twist uncertainly and my gaze falls away from Holiday to the floor that seems to swell around me like an ocean. Everything's a little fuzzy and I can't tell what it's from, general exhaustion or tears. My eyes are burning. My brother, my only flesh and blood family, could be the most wanted man in the world. I'll just say that that doesn't help me feel much better about myself. People already want me dead and they could possibly want my brother dead if Van Kleiss is telling the truth…

Then there's the fact that this would make Van Kleiss a good guy, if even for a moment. I would have that little lingering thought that he helped me once upon a time. Then maybe I wouldn't want to hit him. Then he'd kill me. Or not. Depends on if Circe was lying to me or not. That he needs me alive.

It's all like a whirlwind. Two sides to the coin. Whichever drops will decide my destiny.

And I don't really think I can do anything about it. Watch my brother die and/or have to kill him and submit to Van Kleiss for helping me by ratting out a snitch in the midst of Providence. Or, the better alternative, Cesar is really just a weirdo and Van Kleiss was just lying to me. Which gives me the right to pound him just a bit harder.

But Cesar being a traitor in Providence…

I would want to defend him. I would want to protect him from everyone. He lied to me now, telling me that it was Van Kleiss who did the memory dump. Or at least he _might've_ lied to me. I don't know. I wish I knew. But I don't know. I don't know anything right now.

I just wish I could remember…

With Cesar lying to me, I'd be able to hit him. I'd be able to be angry. But if he's my only family, the only one left… Then maybe there's a problem. I wouldn't want to hurt him. I don't want to hurt him. He's my brother. My mijo, I guess. Mi hermano. I don't want to hurt him. Flesh and blood does mean a lot.

But then if Six starts to fight him because, well, he's Six and Six hates people who lie and people who spread nanites (so does White Knight, for that matter…) so it'd be an epic showdown between them. But I wouldn't want to fight Six. I wouldn't want to fight Cesar either. So I'd have to be a peacemaker even if I'm fighting everyone in Providence.

Divided loyalties.

Why can't I just remember?

"Rex?"

I look up and see Holiday's expression laced with concern, her brow knitted a bit and her hands pressed to the desk like she's about to stand up. Her eyes are flitting over my body, watching me for any signs of something weird happening. That's why she's so great. She cares more than anyone else I've ever known. Yeah, we're perfect for each other. "I'm fine." My biggest lie. "Just trying to… think." If Bobo had been in the room, he would've scoffed and made some smart remark about me not being able to think.

"I'm sorry that it has to be like this, Rex." She leans back in her chair and folds her hands together so that her fingers interlock like the pieces of a puzzle. "I know you're scared that your brother could be… dangerous." A flicker in her eyes made me aware that she knew this wasn't the right word to be using. Maybe there was a good reason for releasing nanites into the world. That's all that I have to convince myself that my brother isn't a complete moron. I love him because he's family, but I'm afraid that maybe there's something wrong with him and something wrong with my life and this entire situation.

Like, what if he's not even my brother?

That thought makes my legs shake and makes my mind whirl a little bit more. They did some genetic tests, that should be good enough… right?

Now I feel like I really don't know anything. It's terrifying. I don't want to think about this stuff. It's sickening to consider that maybe I'm just a pawn in a massive chess game. I'm a weapon in the war. It's scary. Who am I?

"Rex?"

Her voice shakes me out of this nightmare again. I feel like I'm about to fall. I don't really know who I am, who Cesar is, what Van Kleiss did before his tyranny, what's going on in this messed up world… I don't know anything anymore. It feels like it's all crumbling. "I'm alright, really." I run one hand through my hair and try to stabilize my emotions. It doesn't work. I know I'm ready to crash and burn. "I just don't want to think of Cesar being at the heart of the nanite event."

"Van Kleiss is a criminal, don't forget that. There's always the chance that he's lying to you for personal benefit."

"What benefit?" I ask, the words bursting from my mouth before I can control them. "He has no reason to make me hate Cesar! Why would he make me hate my brother? Does he hate Cesar?" My fists are balled up. "Who _is_ Van Kleiss anyways?"

A sigh comes from Holiday. I can tell she's just as lost as I am in this web of lies. "Cesar knows."

"But will Cesar tell the truth? Will he know? Or will he give us more lies? Do we know which one to trust anymore? I hate Van Kleiss, but if he's the one being honest here-"

"Rex."

Her voice settles me down a little bit. The way she says my name is like music in my ears. I love it. Her eyes are softer than they were before, more gentle with hints of reassurance. Her face is kind again, ready to talk me down from my high on anger.

"I know." I peel off my gloves and shove them into my jacket pockets. Just doing that makes me feel a little bit better. I'm out of battle mode at least a little bit and the motion makes me think about that instead of what I'm really thinking about.

Holiday looks me over like a worried mother. And I like it. "You should go find Noah and go shoot some hoops or something. You don't need to worry about this right now, Rex. When something happens, we'll deal with it then, I promise you."

"I know." I roll my shoulders a little bit; some of the stress leaves my body. "I just wish we didn't have to deal with it at all." So I leave while pulling a phone out of my pocket, dialing up Noah as asked and calling him up. Maybe hanging out with him will make me forget. Not that I want to forget anything else… If I remembered, we wouldn't be in this boat.

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><p><strong>AN: May turn into a two-shot or a very short series of one-shots revolving around the same ideas that this brought up. I've already got another idea to add to this. Because Six didn't get a word in, did he? So anyways, review and hopefully I'll have the second part up soon. Thanks for reading. Adios!**

**~Sky**


	2. Weapons That You Use Against Me

**A/N: I really wanted to write this. Really, really badly. Because I splurged on GR today -_-' For like, three hours. Until Megavideo kicked me off… Anyways, here's one of the other little pieces that I wanted to add to this. May be more, but there also may not be… Yeah, this chapter's shorter. Sorry. And no, I couldn't think of a decent chapter title.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Generator Rex. Sorry.**

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><p><strong>Weapons That You Use Against Me<strong>

The slashing of paired katanas against the unseen magnetic forces of Cesar's handheld device made clanging noises ring through the air like demonic bells of war. "You lied to him." Six's hands slashed again as he warded off another of Cesar's magnetic waves. "You made him think he could trust you." He slashed at the air, trying to take off the elder Salazar's head. "You betrayed him."

A grin lit up Cesar's face. Darkness made rings around his eyes that glared at the Providence agent. "Do you know how hard I tried to keep him from knowing, diablo? Do you?" The pebbles that covered the top of the skyscraper from the Keep's rubble shifted under the scientist's feet. His eyes never left Six. "I had to wipe my computer's memory to protect my intentions. I had to lose all my data and every last byte of my work." Another magnetic wave was thrown to Six; again, it was warded off. "You ruined my plans, diablo. Now we need to fix this problema."

Six lunged, aiming a stab at Rex's brother. It missed; Six took a kick to the back of the leg but stayed strong, remaining upright. The two stood face-to-face once more. A scowl claimed Six's usually frowning lips; a tight-lipped fierce smirk painted Cesar's features. "You should've been a better brother," hissed Six with another quick slash which was deflected almost effortlessly.

"Don't you wish you could've helped him?" Cesar was barely able to dodge another fierce stab from Six's sharpened katanas. "I know that you and Doctor Holiday were suspicious of me all along, but now you feel guilty for not stopping me in the first place."

Rage boiled through the blood of the agent. Another slash was aimed. Again, Cesar was able to dodge. "You stole all of Holiday's work." A grunt passed his lips as he charged again with his paired katanas. He took a hit to the back, but his steps never faltered. "You put your brother in a coma." Magnetic forces made a wave of goosebumps wash across his pale skin. "You ruined the Keep." The katanas issued a force to push back that of the smaller device. "You joined Van Kleiss." Brown eyes blazed with fury behind the dark shades. "Now, it's time to put you down."

Another magnetic waves was released from Cesar. Six deflected it. "Only if you're lucky. You will not be mi ángel de la muerte." And the Salazar kicked his attacks into high gear. He was able to make a little move to swipe at Six with a hand while sending out another electromagnetic pulse. The katanas moved to deflect the pulse. At the same time, a foot knocked Cesar's hand away, out of the line of fire. The attacks were unorganized, but Six only needed to buy time. He had to wait for something to happen. The forces were evenly matched, the only turning point being the martial arts skills that Six possessed. Even then, it was only if Cesar was incapable of fighting with such precision and ferocity. But Six had something to fight for. Something important.

Rex.

"Prepare to die." The katanas drove towards Cesar only to be pushed back by the force of the magnetic field. One foot lashed out. It landed on Cesar's hip. The katanas sliced through the air again only to find emptiness where the body of the scientist was only a second ago. A fist found his jaw only a heartbeat before he could dodge it.

"No, señor. Not today." Another wave was unleashed. Glinting silver blades deflected it. Cesar kicked out at Six only to meet the blunt side of a katana swatting him away while a foot lashed out in retaliation. Cesar was lucky that he didn't hit the ground. He managed to stay on his feet while Six slowly returned to his battle-ready stance.

More electromagnetic waves were thrown back and forth. Cesar played offense; Six ran defense. His katanas kept him out of harm's way. Barely. The only offense that the Providence handler could work was a stab with his swords here and there. Even then, Cesar was too fast to get any blows in.

The aim wasn't to kill, just to wound. To keep Cesar from going back to Van Kleiss and telling him that Rex was out of commission. With Rex in a coma and Holiday's work gone and most of Providence's agents dead or in critical condition, Six was the only one still operating. And he still wasn't sure where Bobo was. The chimp had been missing since the first explosion had rocked the Keep.

Now, two hours and a fierce battle of life and death later, Six was on a rooftop below, trying to rid the world of an enemy. But he still didn't have the heart to kill his partner's brother. Not kill. Stab, sure, but not kill. Six could only imagine the damage that would inflict on Rex's already scarred mind. The kid was hardly holding the pieces together as it was. Not that the coma was helping any… And Holiday barely had him stable.

Waves beat the agent backwards again, his feet making pebbles skitter across the ground. "Give up. You can't beat me." Cesar was ready to take out his opponent. The only things standing in his way were the combined metallic blades. "This will all be over once you just let me go."

One wave crashed. A slice in empty air. Cesar backing out of the way again. Six's face was a scowl. Another wave beating back at the katanas. The agent kept pressing. And the magnetic force was gone. The blade fell.

Cesar cried out, the device dropping from his hands as he nursed his new wound. Four of his fingers had been sliced cleanly, the nubs of what used to be part of his body now lying bloody on the ground. The electromagnetic gadget was on the ground, silent but uninjured. It was a moment later as he was looking up into the sunlight at the dark shadow that suddenly loomed over him that he received a swift blow to his temple from a pointed brown shoe. "You betrayed your brother's trust."

A short, choked cackle came from Cesar. His deep, dark eyes carried a demonic glow. "He hasn't trusted me since Van Kleiss spoke with him in the desert." A tiny almost teardrop like trail of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. Katanas were pressed to his neck in a threatening way. "When they were surrounded by nanite dust."

Another swift kick nailed Cesar. This time, an unnerving pain erupted in his shoulder; something felt dislocated. "You were his only family." Six's voice was dark, almost haunted in a strange way. "He loved you." Katanas found taut skin. "He believed in you."

"He was wrong."

His back was instantly pinned to the ground, sharp gravelly pebbles driving into his back. Panic rose in his features like a growing tidal wave. More beads of crimson blood trailed down his skin, this time from his neck. Skin had been pierced, but death was still far off. A heavy shoe was placed on his chest along with the full weight of the man wearing it. "Now he's lying on a bed somewhere, fighting for his life." Six was protective of Rex. The handler had become somewhat of a father along the way. "You've ruined his life." He rolled the handle of the pair swords in his fingers. "Again."

Cesar let his smile capture his face. He hadn't won, but he'd ruined Rex. That was enough for Van Kleiss.

Thunderous footsteps roared from the east. A band of Providence agents all came in, guns aimed and ready to fire, fingers on triggers, all hearts set to kill. Barrels were pointed to Cesar as cuffs were latched onto his hands. Blood dripped onto the silver cuffs from his now nubs of fingers. Six was able to step away. The traitor would be taken care of. He had other business to take care of.

Like Rex.

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><p><strong>AN: Argh, I hate writing fight scenes. I'm so bad at it! But I liked writing this. The thought behind it… Anyways, there may be more to this. I'm still not sure. I literally got an idea writing the word "more" ten second ago. Not even kidding. Another chapter awaits me! Review!**

**~Sky**

**P.S. Yeah, I had to use an English to Spanish translator -_-'**


	3. A Step in the Wrong Direction

**A/N: Honestly, there is no chapter 1.5. I'm just taking little bits and snippets of what I think may happen in this series. "If it goes one way, it could go like this. Or if it turns towards the other, this might happen." That's my mindset while writing this. So I won't really expound on what I'm doing unless I really want to. And now I kind of want to write a chapter 1.5, but not at this very moment.**

**Ignore the whole coma part of that last chapter. This is where Rex would've been had Cesar really been some sort of spy. But not for Van Kleiss…**

**Disclaimer: No, I'm not Man of Action. I'm a girl who likes to theorize cartoon plotlines.**

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><p><strong><span>A Step in the Wrong Direction<span>**

One of four hands rested on his shoulder, steering him in the direction that she wanted him to go. Showing him the way to the master of the land. The master of Abysus. Breach saw his step falter once, his ankle rolling to one side, but she kept him upright with her massive grip and led him onward through dark corridors laced with silky spider webs and covered in thin layers of dust. The dust of nanites.

Nanite dust.

He stumbled again, weak from the mental torture he'd been enduring since leaving his home. Betrayal. Pain. Blistering hot sun. White light everywhere. No nanites. No powers. Nothing working. Nothing working. Hurt. Twisted ankle. Bruised arms. Blood staining his lower lip. Pain. Hurt. Betrayal.

She kept him from tipping over once more as he nearly careened into a wall. Puffs of dust erupted from beneath his feet, swelling and swarming in the heat before floating back down to the ground like the flightless wings of dead butterflies. She never let him stray from their course.

A few more steps. Another misstep. His ankle rolled yet again and his shoulder hit the wall of the narrow passageway that led to the destination he could seek only for refuge and answers, his old home now in ruins, his only safety in who he could trust to protect him from harm. Because he didn't know who was alive back where he'd run from.

She kept him on course.

The passageway opened up under an arch. A pale crimson sky was ripped open overhead by a black sun that hung in the air as if on a wire. Clouds of gray swarmed overhead, threatening rain on the dry, barren wasteland of Abysus. The stone building rose up in a circular chamber of brick by brick by brick, layers upon layers of stone bricks. And in the center lay a neat pile of those same stone bricks stacked almost the way cannonballs would be stacked in the yard of a courthouse. Atop that pile sat a throne. A throne with the master in it. A throne that bore the body of Van Kleiss, dark, piercing eyes staring down upon the frail thing that lay below him, the weakened form of his mortal enemy. "Rex."

The teen stumbled at last, Breach letting her hand fall from his shoulders. A portal was ripped open behind her and a step was taken. That same portal closed, swallowing the girl in one gulp so she could leave her master to deal with their newfound captive. She could only wait to see what the master would do to the vile enemy.

Orbs of deep brown stared up at the villain, hatred glowing in them. But he was too pitiful to deal with this now. He'd come for his own reason. Refuge. Sanctuary. Asylum. Rex barely managed to stand up. His dark eyes found those of his rival, the source of his mortal hatred. "Van Kleiss."

"What brings you, Rex?" A smirk touched the tyrant's lips as his long golden hand stretched out to hold up the boy's chin, keeping their eye contact solid. "Something… wrong?" Van Kleiss could read the teenager effortlessly. He was weak, alone, helpless, worthless. Alone. Powerless.

Shuddering at the touch of his worst nightmare, Rex managed to take a step forward. "You know I don't want to be here right know." He winced as sharp pain shot up his leg, his foot trying to give way as pebbles made him nearly collapse to the ground again. After two days without food and little water, he was about as defenseless as he would ever be. Maybe he would've survived on his own. Maybe he wouldn't have. It was a chance he knew he'd rather not take.

A few questions passed through Van Kleiss's eyes before he focused back on the moment at hand. He could only figure what had happened to bring Rex all this way. "You need my help."

"The Keep got destroyed." The memories of fiery explosions and screams filled his ears with horrible sounds. Heat blistered his skin as the flames chased him through corridors of metal as sirens screamed and burned bodies fell to the ground behind him. He thought he heard the slashing of katanas, but now that he hadn't heard anything from Six in two days, he wasn't sure how his handler had fared. And Holiday… And Bobo… And Beverly… And everyone else… "The whole thing went up in a bomb. Cesar's doing." A shiver of fear ran down his spine, Rex curling into himself for what little bit of comfort he could find in knowing that he was still alive and in one piece. Then his eyes lifted to look at the king of this castle. "You were right."

Confidence seemed to flood from Van Kleiss. Now he had a tool, a weapon. Leverage. Now that Rex could hold even the faintest bit of faith in him, there could be an alliance. A deeper alliance. "Cesar was someone not to be trusted."

Another wince of pain. Rex ducked his head low, submitting to the tyrant in defeat. "He lied to me." The memories still burned in his mind. He'd lost everyone… Everyone… Or at least, that's all he could figure. There had been so much death… "He killed everyone I ever cared about."

"You're angry," noted Van Kleiss, his gaze knowing upon the young EVO. "You want revenge." His hand retracted back to it's post on the throne.

It wasn't something he'd admit to, but Van Kleiss was right. "I know you can help me," breathed Rex, feeling pathetic in this situation. He was going to the source of all evil in the world for help. For shelter. "I know you can take care of me. I know you need me." Rex struggled to stand up tall, attempting to retain some of his former glory. Dust mucked up his hair and clung to his tattered and torn and singed jacket. The soles of his shoes were worn down from so much walking and he felt too tired to even think about building a machine. "And I'm here now."

His eyes flickered over the fading form of the Latino teen. "What makes you think that I still need you?" asked Van Kleiss as he held his head high; in this time and place, he held the upper hand. He wanted to keep it that way, to beat down any opposing forces. Curtains of dark hair concealed half of his face and all of his emotions. Fingers tapped upon the arm of his throne.

"Because," Rex said as he fought to stare Van Kleiss right in the eyes, "you know I can fight on your side in this war." The teen then let his knees give out. "You win, Van Kleiss." His dark eyes were on his dusty fingers and hands as they supported him in the dust that lay heaped around him. His body was barely managing to stay conscious. "I'll join you."

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><p><strong>AN: Another alternative to this… Review?**

**~Sky**


	4. Talk to Me

**A/N: This one is short, sorry. All the rest should be longer. Set a few hours after the first chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.**

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><p><strong><span>Talk to Me<span>**

"I can read your mind," says Noah as he stands across the court from me. His eyes are burning with questions that I don't want to answer. "So you can just talk to me." He passes the basketball and it hits me square in the chest. "Come on, dude. It's me."

I know it's him. But I also know that I don't know who to trust. If that makes any sense. I want to trust Cesar more than anything. Noah's not even involved in any of this, but I'm perfectly aware of his track record; it's something I'm wary about sometimes. "I'm worried about Cesar."

Noah had met my brother not too long ago. He'd even picked up on Cesar's quirks in a few minutes. His lack of attention, his divided thoughts, the way his speech could sometimes just trail off, a sentence completely forgotten. So it wasn't hard to read his slow, painful reaction. It was like something was dawning on him. Maybe that I knew my brother wasn't right and that he was a little bit crazy.

Who am I kidding? A lotta bit crazy.

"Why should you be worried about him?" Noah asks as one finger points to the basket that waits for the ball. "He's-"

"Noah."

"Right."

I take my shot. It's nothing but net. "You know that I was at the nanite event, right?" I question just for clarification. Once Noah nods, I continue. "Cesar was there too. So was Van Kleiss."

He doesn't comprehend all this, but he's taking in the information and that's all I can ask for. As long as he's listening and trying, that's all I need in a friend right now.

"Van Kleiss said Cesar was the cause of the event."

Noah's eyes widen, the blue of them growing a little darker and a little bit more scared. And then, another moment of realization. "But since when have you believed Van Kleiss? He's as reliable as a bag of bricks, Rex."

Our basketball game is pretty much forgotten in the wake of all the passing information.

"He and Cesar know each other. And from what I've heard, they don't get along." I'm peeling off my gloves and tossing them aside. It makes me feel better, but only a little. "I only know a few people who were part of the event and none of them are giving me straight answers. Cesar's too scatter-brained, I can't trust Van Kleiss, and I don't know what happened to Rylander."

Some part of Noah must've just snapped a little bit because I see his eyes retreat to a dark place, clouding over. It's not like him. He looks away from me, one hand reaching up to rub his shoulder. He does that sometimes when he's nervous. I don't know what caused it, but I don't think I want to pry. I can open up about my personal life, but he's not keen on opening up about his. All I know is that he lives with his mom in a pretty nice place and his last name's Nixon. Other than that, I don't feel the need to know more. The less questions, the better.

"And I really don't know who I want to believe. I want to trust Cesar, but I don't know if it was him who wiped ZAG-RS or if it was Kleiss." I run a hand through my hair and kick at the ground. I can't come up with an answer. Asking Holiday helped a little bit, but she didn't have an answer.

"You should track down Rylander. Maybe he'd have better answers," recommends Noah gently as he snatches up the basketball again to keep his hands busy. He spins it on one finger and watches the stripes spin and spin and spin, eyes distant. "If Cesar won't tell it to you straight and Van Kleiss is dishonest, go with your third option."

"I don't even know if he's alive, Noah."

There's a pause. The ball nearly falls. "Rex." He's completely serious. I don't think I've ever seen Noah so serious. It's like he transformed into something else. "You _need_to find Rylander."

"Why?" I ask. Now I'm suspicious. Noah is Noah: a boring person who studies and goes to school and gets good grades and does what he can. I don't think he's ever been so involved and commanding in my life. He's usually just my conscience when my usual conscience fails, which is most of the time.

"He's my dad, Rex."

Now it's my turn to have a moment of complete shock. It all hits me like a stampede of hungry Bobos. "I knew he disappeared with a young son, but-"

"Nixon is a fake name. It's an alliteration. That doesn't happen, okay? Now I need you to help me." He's walking closer and his eyes are a little sad and a little scared; I can actually see him shaking. "You don't remember me, Rex, but I'm just like Cesar and Tuck and everyone else you've forgotten. I was at the event just like you were. I was your friend before Knight paid me."

This takes a second to sink in. I forgot my best friend... "So yo- you know what happened?"

"No. Clue."

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><p><strong>AN: Less focused on "Written in the Sand" but still focused on the thoughts of who to trust and where you can find the answers. With Noah's real story on the side. So please review. I got two more chapters planned, although more should come.**

**~Sky**


	5. Staring Into Souls

**A/N: Man, I splurged on GR writing last night. This was the start. Two more things to be posted shortly after this. Sorry for spamming up the fandom, but I couldn't help myself. I loved writing it. This idea's been on my mind for a while now. This one's written awkwardly, but I think it fits the mood.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, sorry.**

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><p><strong><span>Staring Into Souls<span>**

He thinks his chest might've just collapsed. It's too dark to see anything, black as night. His fingers, gloveless, are finding cold ceramic tiles beneath him. They explain why his knees hurt after falling. It's like he can't breathe. There's a pain in his skull, there's screaming, loud, sharp screaming, coming from somewhere in the vicinity. He's not sure whether to look up or whether to try and shield himself. It's too dark to see anything and the screaming is almost mind-numbing. Why does it hurt so bad? What did he do wrong?

Lights flash on overhead and he cringes, white tiles around him, white walls around him, all reflecting the light and making the world twice as bright. It stings. It hurts. It burns. He's trying to block it all out, but the white is searing his eyelids... He can't keep it out... He can't see... Why can't he breathe?

He cringes again as a sound, the buzzing of a television, sizzles through the air, an accompaniment to the shrill screaming that's still ringing, one long, low, loud note being sung in pain. Screaming. Why won't the screaming stop?

"Rex."

He looks up, barely able to do so. The whole thing is like a torture chamber, darkness, now white, silence, now sound. His head is throbbing and it just won't stop. His brown orbs are staring at a screen that shows his brother's face as others are appearing out of the walls, each black and blank, silent, turned off. "Cesar."

Just the pain of the word makes his throat and chest hurt even more, the stinging becoming a burning and the throbbing in his head becoming somewhat of an explosion with every rush of blood to his brain. Pain, everywhere, burning stinging pain- He grips his head and prays for it to all stop, the screaming, the torture, the madness, just stop the madness-

"A bit like Chinese Water Torture, eh?" His voice is confident, cocky. Rex is drained of his nanites. His nanny isn't there to save him. Cesar has the world in the palm of his hand, Providence under his thumb, and his only enemy pinned down. "I picked it up while I was over in Asia studying. Strain on the mind instead of the body. Although I will admit, your friend's screaming is a nice touch."

His eyes shoot open even though it's still painful to see. No one, no human, could scream like- "Circe." Her name is hissed through his gritted teeth as the furious stare of the teen is directed up at the screen where Cesar's smiling face is. "Where is she?" His voice is now a snarl. He can't do anything about it, he knows, but maybe if she were close... If she's screaming like that... Maybe she could help... His head pulses and the pain is like fire. An angry inferno of fire-

"Not just her."

The buzzing of more screens fills the air like the buzzing of bees. It's buzzing and then humming as Rex is looking around to see static everywhere. Static on every screen.

"I have them all."

The snowy static turns to images. Images. Faces. Faces that bring names, memories, pain, oh the pain- Not just Circe. He has them all.

Every. Single. One.

He feels this hurt in his chest. It's like his heart has shattered. Not only has one of his lungs collapsed, but now he's lost all hope, all sense of will to live. He doesn't want to go on. He knows this battle isn't worth fighting. Not with what he sees.

Holiday.

Six.

Bobo.

Noah.

Circe.

White.

Bev.

Everyone he has ever loved. Prisoners.

He can't take his eyes off of them. Screens around the room holding faces. So many faces. So much pain, God the pain... He feels like he's dying. He wishes he could die, but there's no poison, no dagger, no way to die, just live and see the torture that the mind can experience, the pain a heart can feel.

He's staring into souls. And Cesar's laughing. Laughing loud. Laughing hard. Laughing a laugh that Rex had once admired. Laughing at his brother's agony. Laughing.

His heart hurts. So bad.

Noah is in one screen. One blue eye and part of his nose are all you can see. He's staring into the camera. His eyes are readable. He's afraid. He's terrified. He doesn't know what's going on. He's panicking. He's scared. He needs a friend, he needs help, he needs somebody, anybody-

In another, White is pounding on walls, a prisoner. His lips are moving, but no sound is coming out. It looks like he's screaming and anger is written in the lines of his face, the way his brow is furrowed, the way his eyes glare at everything. Rex never liked Knight, but there was no need for all this chaos. Such chaos, such pain-

She was screaming. Screaming bloody murder, tears streaking down her face, leaving tiny silver trails. Circe's crying. It hurts so much to see her cry, why does she have to cry? Her screaming hurts his head- Make it stop makeitstop!

He wants to cry, but he can't. It all hurts too bad to cry. He's just numb, so numb, too numb to cry, all the pain is making him numb, numb to hurt, numb to emotions, just numb, so numb-

Six is lying there. His body's sprawled out and the camera is watching him for any signs of movement. There's none. He's still. He's not moving. Rex takes in a sharp breath- Knives stab at his lungs and he can't breathe, he just can't breathe, it hurts too much- He can't be dead, Six can't be dead, but why isn't he moving? Why won't he move? He's not dead- He can't be dead-

His father is dead, he wants to cry. He can only breath, just barely, but he can breathe, breathe, slowly, painfully, breathe, but it hurts, but he has to breathe. Breathe. Just. Breathe.

Beverly is sitting there, on the ground, eyes on the floor, room empty around her, just sitting there, sitting there. Silently. Sitting there. Not moving, alive, just breathing, sitting there, silently, without pain, without fear, just breathing. Because she knows Rex will save her.

But he won't.

Bobo is not as calm. He is afraid. He is in pain. He is not dead. He is screeching. He is unheard. Five long marks have drawn blood across his torso, long claw marks that are angry and red, welling up blood, so much blood, he's screeching in pain, howling, afraid, terrified. The chimp has lost his hat. His eyepatch is missing. A massive white scar is where his eye should be. It's no longer a scar now, but claw marks have drawn across that too. He's fighting for his life. He's screeching. He's in pain.

Rex's head feels like it's splitting open. He doesn't know what's going on, why all this is necessary. He just wants to go home, he wants to lie in a bed somewhere and die, he wants to hide, he wants to save them all, but he can't, no nanites, no powers, no nothing, the war is over, the war is lost, it's all over, it's all over-

Holiday has a gash in her arm. It's bloody, but she's managing. There's a fire extinguisher in her hands and she's trying to bus out. Her cries are silent, but Rex can read her lips. She's crying out for Six, desperate for him, wanting him so badly, she has to know if he's okay, she has to know- The fire extinguisher is slammed against the walls yet again, but there isn't even a dent. She cries out again. It's silent. But he knows. "Six!" He knows. "Six, please!" He knows.

It's just him and Cesar. He knows this too. The battle is over, a battle that had never started, one that had just existed. His brother was always out to get him. The whole time. Rex was just too blind, too naive, too rash to see any of it, to believe the crazy theories, to understand how deep lies could run. He wish he knew, now. The regrets always come later. They always do.

"It's my turn to play hero now, Rex." A demonic smile has possessed his features. His brother no longer looks friendly or fun, just evil, so evil, demonic, just evil... He isn't a brother anymore.

It only takes a heartbeat for one Smash Hand to appear where Cesar's right arm had been a second ago. "Goodbye, Rex." It reaches forward and the camera is crushed.

Fear. His chest burns. He looks at all the other screens to see that gray and white static take over each once more. The faces are lost to snow. The images are gone. Everything is gone.

Darkness falls again.

The static evaporates. The buzzing stops.

Rex is left with his pounding head, his collapsed lung, and the screaming of the siren.

It hurts.

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah, I wrote it. Yeah, it's trippy. Yeah, I killed Six. And yeah, Cesar stole Rex's nanites.**

**Review?**

**~Sky**


	6. We Play With Theories

**A/N: I love this story. I do.**

**This one, I tried to stray away from the focus being so much on Rex (so I could get a broader perspective on the subject) while still staying relevant. So this is what came out of it. Make sure to tell me what you like better, theory chapters or Rex-based chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><span>We <span>Play With Theories**

Six was just hanging out in her office. He always spent way too much time in her office, sitting there, sharpening a katana, messing around on his phone. Anything to get to spend a little bit of time with her. A few moments, an hour, twenty minutes. Anything he could get just to breathe the same air as she did.

Holiday looked up from her work to see him sitting there in his usual spot: atop a table that she usually kept covered in motorcycle magazines for Rex when he had to wait for files or a report from her. Her sea-foam green eyes watched him as he slowly ran his blade across a sharpening stone. "Six?"

No words, but he looked up at her. Behind the glasses, his brown eyes were questioning. He'd picked up on that slightly worried tone in her voice. He'd heard how the 's' in his name had had a little quiver to it. He knew how to listen to the details of her speech and how to read her body language from the way she held her head to the way her hand moved. Six could read Holiday better than he could read books.

"What do you think?" She put her chin in her hand, that hand propped up by an elbow planted firmly on the table. A loose strand of her nearly black hair fell in her eyes, but she didn't bother to move it. Holiday was quiet for a long moment. "About Cesar."

He had a strict rule about gossip. He wouldn't do it. But this was theorizing. A completely different concept by the "Six's Guide to Life" rulebook. He ran his blade over the stone, a few yellow sparks jumping to life from twixt the two surfaces, metal and stone. "I think we're trusting him too much." Again, Six's blade ran across the rock. More yellow sparks. "I think we need to learn more before Rex gets too involved with him and learning about their family."

So they had the same thoughts; Holiday felt a bit of relief wash away the plague of worry. "I feel the same way." Her eyes strayed away from him as he continued to work with his katana. "More than anything, I want to keep Rex from getting hurt."

Six gave his curt nod, eyes falling back to the blade behind black shades. The knife continued to scrape against the stone.

"I want him to be safe from Cesar, and yet I want him to be connected to his family." She felt her heart tugging in different directions, her eyes looking to the papers that her pen was flying across. The woman felt the need to keep working, but at the same time, she needed to talk with Six. "I guess it's what I've grown used to since we've been taking care of him for so long, but… it feels strange to have Cesar be the one he wants to talk with instead of you or I."

Six made no response, but his blade stopped against the sharpening stone.

"We've been like his parents all along, but now that there's some truth in his life… There's someone he can put his faith in. Now he can believe in Cesar-"

"He _can't_ trust Cesar."

Holiday looked up, fear glowing in those orbs of sea-foam green. She had sensed the hostility in the man's voice and had noticed how the _scrape, scrape, scrape_ of the blade had stopped now. She sat there quietly.

"He could be anything for all we know, Rebecca. A clone. A spy. It isn't like we haven't seen things like that before." He set back to sharpening his katana. "I don't trust him."

A thin smile pulled up at the corners of Holiday's lips. "Six."

"Rebecca." He wasn't going to say anything else that was on his mind. He'd already spoken more than he usually did in one day. The ninja went back to his weapons. The scraping sound once more filled the air like a song, background music to normal Providence life.

"You're protective of Rex," noted the doctor, smiling to herself even as she set back to work with the pen back on the paper. She signed her name, sketched out the date, wrote out some fractions and formulas. "You care about him, Six."

"I'm his partner." The words were sharp, quiet. "I'm supposed to care." His eyes didn't find her. He kept working intently on his sword.

The doctor signed her name once more, eyes only skimming the paper, not taking in the words, but absorbing the meaning of it all. Holiday watched him, but pretended to keep her gaze on her work and all the inked words. "He's the closest thing to family we have." She once against scrawled her name on a line. "Don't forget that, Six."

He winced internally. Part of him wanted to mention her sister down in the Hold, but he kept quiet about that. The blade scraped the stone, those yellow sparks still jumping out from between the rock and the metal. Yellow sparks like fireworks.

"He's like a son to us."

There was only the slightest falter in Six's sharpening, but he quickly picked it back up again, rhythm the same as before.

"We've been taking care of him since he was only ten or eleven." Daydreams took over her mind, the pen now tapping against her chin. She sighed heavily, remembering all those days when she'd find the kid scampering around Providence with his chimp and all the little toys he used to use. No Smash Hands, no Punk Busters, just good old machines, simpler things like a unicycle he'd make and ride around or another set of arms that he wanted. Simple things instead of weapons. That was back when he was just meant to be a cure. "You know he's more than a partner. He's family."

Six was quiet for a long time. The scraping of the blade continued.

She knew he wasn't going to open up anymore. Holiday let loose another sigh before going back to her original thought. "But Cesar."

"We can't trust him." Six continued to scrape his sword. Stone and metal. Stone and metal.

Holiday wasn't getting anywhere else with him. She cocked her head quietly to one side and tapped the pen on her chin once more. Then she went quiet and got back to work, the sound of his katana and the rock the background music of her life. They could deal with the Cesar issue when they came to it. She and Six weren't letting him hurt Rex, she knew that.

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><p><strong>AN: Strayed away from the title of this chapter, but it's what I wanted to get across. A little fluffy Holix (if you wanna call it fluffy, I don't know) and some general questioning of trust. Review?**

**~Sky**


	7. Brotherhood

**A/N: Decided that this was one of my top priorities of the night. This is one of the ideas I've been saving.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><span>Brotherhood<span>**

A little stream of red blood trickled out of the corner of Rex's mouth as he stood up again. He'd fallen back, been pushed down by the fierce magnetic force of his brother's tool for about the twenty-ninth time. His dark reddish brown eyes found the blurry form of his spiky haired brother. "Cesar…" Furious eyes turned bleary with hot, burning tears. He pushed himself up off the ground again, arms now straining with the effort.

Cesar pushed the button on his little toy again, knocking down his younger counterpart. "Rex, I cannot believe you never saw this coming." A thin smile was pressed to his face with demonic joy. That same sort of demonic joy was glimmering in his deep, dark eyes. "Your Doctor Holiday and Agent Six never bothered to check twice after I swapped the DNA the first time." He almost laughed as he watched Rex get pressed to the ground again with the magnetic force of his little device.

More burning tears found Rex's dark eyes. "You lied to me…" His breathing was heavy. He didn't even try to get up anymore. For a few minutes, he just laid there, face buried in the dust and gravel that laid beneath him.

Cesar's footsteps approached dangerously close, within a yard of Rex's face. There was the sound of crackling joints as the elder knelt closer to the younger. "Yes, Rex." He flashed his pearly whites, that grin laced with horrible hatred. "I lied."

His head was throbbing. He could feel his pulse in his face. That definitely wasn't normal. "Why?" he asked, voice faltering, heart aching. He'd wanted a brother for so long. Forever. As long as he could remember. He'd always wanted to have a family, anyone, someone who shared his blood.

Six… Six was a father. But it wasn't the same.

Holiday, a mother. Still, she wasn't perfect.

Bobo and Noah, brothers. In a weird way. Bobo was a chimp, but Rex knew a lot of dogs were treated like siblings, so why not chimps?

Either way, it still wasn't the same as someone who shared your blood, who shared your memories, who shared those connections with family…

Rex let out a grunt as Cesar kicked him over so he was lying on his back and staring up at the cloudy gray sky that had suddenly decided to unleash its fury, rain ripping down from the Heavens and letting loose heavy buckets of icy cold water; Rex's skin was immediately covered in goosebumps.

"Because I needed to get close to you." The little device in his hand was pressed to Rex's neck, the cold metal driving into a soft point of the young Hispanic teen's neck. Cesar's eyes glowed, malicious intent written across his tanned face.

"For the Omega-1, right?" He gave a sad, hopeless laugh. "That's all anyone ever cares about anymore. Nanites, the cure, nanites, no more EVOs. I save lives every day." The metal piece jabbed into his neck a little bit harder. "And no one ever cares about _me_."

Cesar's face didn't soften. His teeth clenched a bit harder, eyes growing dark and dim. "Why should they? You're only a weapon."

"A weapon that no one can use without the proper control." There was a reason he only listened to Holiday and Six. They cared about him more than most other people could. They cared about him. Yes, they cared about his nanites more than him being an actual person, but they cared more about him than Van Kleiss or Cesar or anyone else ever would. "Does anyone even think-"

"Be quiet." Cesar pressed the button and waited a moment for the machine in his hand to warm up. He stood quietly over his prey, one knee bent so he could stay close. He had to let his little machine rip the Omega-1 right out of the EVO.

"Come on, Cesar, let me at least be dramatic while you try to kill me." Rex felt the rain pelting his skin like little knives of ice. He wasn't going to fight back. There was no need to. He was hopeless, weak, worn, tired, done. He couldn't win this time. No, it was just too hard. No way was this ever going to work. Not here, not now. His nanites weren't cooperating, his emotions raging too much, his heart beating too hard. This wasn't going to work. No way, no how.

The rain continued to pour down as Cesar felt his machine warming up in his hands, the whirring of internal gears and winding pulleys revving up the magnetic charge to be radiated out of the external prod to draw that Omega-1 right out of Rex. "It wasn't hard, Rex." His finger hovered over the button. "You should really learn not to trust so easily."

Rex closed his eyes against the onslaught of rain that stabbed at his face like icy knives. There were too many loose ends here. Far too many. "But Abuela-"

"Bribed." He continued to wait. It had to be at full power to be able to get the nanite through skin.

"And the werewolf EVOs-"

"Sheer luck." Cesar's brow furrowed, impatience plaguing his mind now. Why did all of this have to take so long? Why did el chico estupido ask so many questions? Too many questions for his liking…

"And-"

"Hush." He watched as Rex's skin was pulled taut when the prod was shoved further into his neck. "You'll die soon enough and you won't need anymore answers." The scientist's malicious grin swept across his face again in full force-

-until it was swiftly wiped away as the blunt side of a katana slammed into his skull, Cesar falling to the left of Rex, his unconscious body slapping the ground and making a puff of tan dust swarm up around him like flies around a dead body.

"Rex." Six's voice was surprisingly soft as he reached a hand down to clasp that of his comrade. The green-suited man hauled the Hispanic teen to his feet with a quiet word of thanks to the force of Fate.

"Hey, Six," came Rex's weak and cracking voice as he was pulled up to stand alongside his father and mentor, the man who had impacted his life more than any other. "Thanks for coming to rescue me." He gave a quiet cough while wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Your welcome."

And his moment of weakness came. Rex looked from his nanny to the barely breathing body of the one he had once respected. "Did you know?"

A heartbeat passed and Six gave a quiet nod. He'd only found out after Cesar had taken Rex out for the day, after Holiday's suspicions had gotten the better of her and she'd gone through the procedure of running the tests again. She'd been right all along.

Rex said nothing, but disappointment pricked his heart. Why did they always play with him like he was a little ragdoll? Why did it always have to happen to him? What had he done wrong in his sixteen years to have deserved all this torture? The EVO teen shuddered as he tore his eyes away from the man he had longed for his whole life only for it all to be a big lie... Just one big lie for all those months...

"What do you want me to do with him?" The point of one katana was pricked into Cesar's back, the tip of the blade sharp as it gently stabbed into the scientist's skin.

Rex quietly stood there, looking down at the man he had admired, the man he'd cared about, the man he had once called "hermano". He shook his head and wiped a little bit of dirt from his forehead, mind in too much pain to really think of anything right now. "I don't care. Just give him what he deserves." The hurt in his heart was too strong to be thinking properly. He moved away towards the waiting hovercraft that was decorated in Six's signature green color, arms wrapped tightly around his body, feeling small and worthless again. "Just do whatever you want."

His mouth was still a straight line, although if he'd felt like he was allowed to express any emotion, he would've been scowling at Cesar's lifeless form. He knew what he wanted to do.

Except for Six had morals.

The ninja silently grabbed the back of Cesar's shirt and dragged him through the dust towards the same jump-jet that Rex had just disappeared into, the shadows making him vanish in what seemed like a heartbeat. He'd just have to imprison the impostor. What other choice did he have?

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><p><strong>AN: This looked so much better in my head. Whatever. Review?**

**~Sky**


	8. The Big Plan

**A/N: This is the shortest chapter you will ever see in here. Just trust me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

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><p><em>The Big Plan<em>

A hand has been extended to all reaches of the world. Six's world, Holiday's world, Rex's world. And, out of all the oddities, Van Kleiss's.

It isn't a hard concept to grasp, just that an incomprehensible power bears down on heroes and villains alike, the power of pure control over all nanites.

Cesar.

Who else could it be? Van Kleiss? Yes, he has control over nanites to a certain extent. As does Rex, for that matter. They both have a certain... perspective on the microscopic organisms that create both diseases and cures.

The big plan is for the worlds to combine: science, control, fighting, and skill.

Holiday has called in all the doctors she can think of to help with finding a cure for nanites. All the work combined should create a better basis on finding that cure while the other teams work to build an empire of sheer force to overpower the abilities of one. She's building an entire database of all the collected nanite research across the globe. Moses's research is the most valuable, as are the schematics for his machine, the one used to cure Beverly, the one that nearly killed Six.

Six.

He's called in the other four most dangerous people of the world. Trey, Dos, and IV came reluctantly, but they came either way. They were there and at the ready for whenever the attack was planned for. They stayed in their own jumpjet, one provided by Six. They still couldn't trust Providence, never could, never would. Providence was the poison of the world, of mercenaries. Poison.

Five was there as well, in case you were wondering. She just chose to stay closer to the base, to train alongside of Rex and Six in case she were given the honor of being able to fight beside them, a warrior at the sides of generals or lieutenants. She stayed within Paradise, the base being used for the big plan. Cesar would find them a bit too easily anywhere else. And if he decided to play offense, they had all of Rex's extra nanites to feed him before giving up their own and losing men and EVOs.

Rex easily had the biggest group, EVOs and humans, soldiers and friends, troops and men. He had bodies all around him. People from Mexico. People from Hong Kong. People from Brooklyn. People from everywhere. Anywhere he'd ever been in his life, he'd tracked down a friend or two. His face and name posted on billboards asking for help to form an EVO army and forgotten friends from his amnesiac past came back into the light, memories drawn back from shadows and darkness, from the abyss of the forgotten.

He'd gotten Circe, Tuck, Sqwydd, Cricket, Frederico, Abuela, Caleb, Rombauer and Lansky, Hunter Cain, Buchiner, Beverly, Callen, Kenwyn, Claire and Annie. Anyone he'd ever known had come out of the woodwork to face the threat. They'd all come to his aid to fight a war. To help him.

The only group that rivaled Rex's was Van Kleiss's. He'd packed up his people and loaded them all into a cave on the far side of the icy ravine that Paradise was positioned in. He had all of his henchmen and enough EVOs under his control to fuel a little under half the army fighting the elder Salazar brother. Biowulf, No-Face, Skalamander, Breach, and Quarry were a few of the bigger names in his troops.

The plan?

To take down Cesar Salazar, the man who wanted to control all nanites. Control who did what, how they did it, their thoughts, their imaginations, their lives. All lives. The entire human race and beyond. Any living being under his control. The world at his fingertips. And not a care to how it was all run.

That's what they were stopping.

The four corners of the universe drawn together to fight one incredible battle, to fight for control, their lives, and for the future of Earth.

That was the big plan.

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><p><strong>AN: Next one will be much, much longer, I promise. Leave a review. Thanks for reading.**

**~Sky**


	9. Hit a Little Harder

**A/N: So I know this is a tad late, but I couldn't get it done in time for yesterday. I wanted to perfect it for you guys. It's still not as good as I wanted it to be, but… I did the best I could. It was hard to get action in and still relay the basic message.**

**This one is in response to Peacexfreedom's comment that all my chapters focus on Cesar being a bad guy. Why do I see it this way? Because my logic is like this: why would they bother putting doubt in our minds if they weren't going to actually go through with it?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p><strong>Hit a Little Harder<strong>

One massive Smash Hand rotated faster than most ever thought possible. It was a mere blur of orange and gray in the onslaught of rain that poured down from the blackest Heavens that Mother Earth had ever produced.

Fierce shouts had been erupting from that spot in the wet and muddy world of Seattle. A boy stood over a man. That metal fist rotated above them, gears and treads groaning and hissing, threatening the older, shouting coming from the younger, the hand a ghost looming large above. Gray forms were blurred by rain, but angered eyes shone through like red beacons. The red of unadulterated rage.

Of the two, one hand had been pounded into the ground beside the elder, a warning that movement meant death. Death would mean the end of the world. Things were so black and white, the gray in between only the blurred lines of reality and right and wrong, gray the world around them, gray the sky above, gray the mud below, gray the air around them. But war would forever lie in black and white. White, pure and good; black, the source of all evil.

"Why did you lie to me?" came the hiss through Rex's gritted teeth, rage coming off of him in waves. Red for rage. His usually spiked hair was matted to his head with mud and rain, droplets of the sky's tears sliding down his exposed flesh, his skin and clothes soaked.

Instead of answering, Van Kleiss gave a thin smirk. His air of ever-lasting confidence hung there between them, the only thing that kept Rex from wanting to kill him. That man's held too much information that the teen wanted to know. Things about his parents, things about the event, the things that created the world as he knew it. Those gave the criminal enough confidence to let him radiate that unwavering strength; it was the only reminder that kept Rex from needing to take his life right then and there.

The other hand slammed hard into the ground on the other side of Van Kleiss, Rex now staring down at the EVO with a flushed face and tired limbs. Mud splashed onto them both, raindrops still spattering against the cold ground like paint. The EVO teen emanated that same anger. "Why did you lie?" he snarled, lips actually curling up in a wolf-like ferocity. His teeth were slightly bared.

It was one swift movement, the world around them slowing down. Van Kleiss pushed his hands into the slippery ground and shoved himself up, feet slamming into the Hispanic teen's chest and putting him off-balance despite the two Smash Hands that held him upright. It was off-balance enough for the kid to give a groan and then a howl of fury before unleashing his full force as Van Kleiss stood a couple yards away, trying to recompose himself.

Rex charged, his machine changing from hands to a single arm, a long lashing whip that fell to the ground before it was raised for an attack. He slapped at the ground by his foe's feet, mud splashing up and spraying Van Kleiss.

The man moved back, face covered in gray mush. He wiped it away with one sleeve before looking up into the spikes of Rex's Punk Busters. It was a quick duck and roll through a puddle of gray to avoid that dreadful, bloody demise.

Annoyance pricked at Rex's skin. "Just give me an answer, Kleiss!" He didn't need to kill, not today. He just needed answers. Then again, wasn't that all he ever needed? He needed to know who he was, how to cure all EVOs, who to trust, why this guy had to be so dang evil... All Rex ever needed was answers. That was all his life had become now. A search for answers. Answers that he knew he may never get. Honesty wasn't something he'd seen too often. Van Kleiss had taught him how to read lies. "Is it really so much to ask?" A grunt came from him as he landed a bit harder in the mud and fell forward after a second failed attempt at smashing the enemy beneath his spiked shoes. His jacket was smeared with mud.

"Rex, you cannot possibly fathom how deep all of this goes." Van Kleiss dodged another bullet; this time it had been a projectile from the Slam Cannon. It splashed water on him to further drench his already soaked clothes. "This goes further than you can imagine. From the day the project started."

"Why do you have to frame my brother?" breathed Rex, voice laden with hurt. Yeah, Van Kleiss was a terrible person, no question, but going so low as to lie about something as stupid as not trusting Cesar? His own brother, his own flesh and blood, framed for causing the nanite event... "He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't cause the event. He didn't ruin the world."

"And neither did I." Another projectile slammed down into the mud beside him. Gray slush was kicked up everywhere. He had to wipe more from his face. The rain poured down harder. "But I had to leave you uncertain of the people on your own side. That uncertainty left me with a better vantage point of the situation at hand." Another shot. Another miss. More gray sludge was thrown into the air. Gray. Everywhere. "You see, I needed to have something that you wanted."

"But Cesar isn't a bad guy!" defended Rex helplessly. He let the Slam Cannon fall from his shoulder and morphed the Boogie Pack into his back. "I nearly killed my own brother!"

That same thin smirk found those same thin lips. "All the better for me." He thought he saw a different machine through the pelting rain, but decided to stay cautious about it instead of fighting back. "If you had killed him, I would've been the only one to know the truth." He heard the hissing of the hooks releasing before he saw them coming for him. "And then what advantage would I have?"

The wires of the Boogie Pack's hooks slammed into the teenager's opponent, knocking him into a large puddle of gray mud that had suddenly slathered itself all over his clothes and face and hands. Those wires managed to wrap around the downed man. It only took a few seconds for Rex to be standing over Van Kleiss once more. Control was his. "You wouldn't have one." The younger's voice was neutral and cold. Heartless.

"Losing Circe ruined more plans than you would know. She was always going to be my token to keep you in line, Rex. Cesar coming back was just another tool that I could use against you." Even in the face of imminent death, Van Kleiss gave a curt laugh. His golden eyes glowed with victory. This was a war he would not lose, he was confident of that. "I should be grateful that he came back."

If he didn't have so many questions, Rex would've ended it all right there. He would've hit a little harder, aiming to kill. But there were too many loose ends. There weren't enough answers yet to piece together the final puzzle pieces of his life.

If only he could remember...

He retracted the machine that had been fastened to his back into his body again. And then he extracted his revenge. He got down on his hands and knees and began to pummel the crap out of his nightmare. Gloved fists caught bones and flesh and muscle. Mud flew everywhere through the gray of a rainy day.

Pain exploded in his left eye. Then below his right eye. And he laughed. As a knuckle caught his tooth and knocked it loose, the villain laughed. Another fist in his cheek. A blue and black bruise instantly bloomed like a wounded rose. Yet he laughed. Laughing in the face of Rex's hatred. The pure rage of a boy with more questions than answers. He laughed.

Rex only wanted this misery to be over. He wanted answers, he wanted a simple end to such torture and mental pain. He kept hitting until enough of that anger was released so that he could go back to Providence without feeling too furious. He didn't want to take all these dangerous emotions back to Providence with him.

He left the unconscious body of Van Kleiss out in the rain. Mud was everywhere. Gray raindrops seeped through the clouds and took their plunge towards the cold earth like tiny falling angels.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you could understand what the dialogue was getting at. I was having a hard time keeping it all within my certain verbal limitations on this chapter. So review?**

**~Sky**


	10. Draw the Line

**A/N: ****So tonight was "A Family Holiday". I told all my friends that don't regularly watch to tune in tonight especially 'cause it's so freaking FLUFFY! On that note, this chapter does have a reference to tonight's episode and that's why I'm writing so much garbage for this A/N.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. Rex's POV.**

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><p><em><span>Draw the Line<span>_

"Where do you draw the line, Rex?"

I have to pause. I can't keep going on like this. I need to stop. I need a moment to think, a moment to breathe.

Because he's right.

There is a cure. A cure to all nanites, a way to make it all go away. Moses' technology provided the basis for Holiday's research projects, the magnetic polarity of certain nanite frequencies that can draw them out of human flesh all to one source to create a mass of pure nanites, just nanites, all nanites in one spot.

But with this incredible power comes the responsibility to the wielders. Holiday has the ability to work it. She built it; she's the only one who knows how to work it. The only one in the world who can create such a force that would take away all nanites. Forever.

The only problems are both of morals and of life or death.

The morals lie within the issue of killing me.

Nanites, once upon a time, saved my life. I don't know what happened or why it's like this, but this is how it is. I have to be this way. I need nanites to live as far as we know. I mean, I may be able to live without them, but even without them there are psychological consequences.

It's what gives me my machines, too. My nanites are my entire existence. They got me to Six, and they got me to Tuck and the gang, and they got me where I am in life. Without my nanites, I am nothing. I'm not a hero. I'm not a weapon. I'm just a kid with great hair and a dashing smile. Realistically, that won't get me very far if nanites are no longer in existence.

Holiday has Cesar's machine, and she now knows how to destroy the nanites once she draws them to the super magnet that's going to glom them all together at this one point for destruction. She's going to destroy the nanites forever so that they can't do to the rest of the world what they did to Beverly. She's ready to end it all.

And here's the problem: I don't want it to end.

My life is chaos. Take away nanites, and I'm just an amnesiac kid named Rex. Nothing new. No nanites, no hero, no fun, no life. I might not die. But I might die. We're not sure yet. Holiday doesn't know what happened to me in the first place; we're trying to figure that one out before we go any further. If she sucks all the nanites out, I could die.

The line of life or death.

Her morals are what's keeping her from doing it. Mostly. She also doesn't want to kill Six yet. His katanas are the only thing with strong enough magnetic force to deal with the heavy machinery of Moses' equipment. And Six has to hold them in place. Which would kill him.

So the whole thing is like one of those never-ending circles that always pisses people off.

Then there's the ever-present issue of Van Kleiss.

We destroyed him that one time and the whole world started to fall apart, right? So if we destroy nanites, that's technically killing him and could possibly destroy the world. And then what do we do? Recreate all the nanites? No, not possible. Lab equipment was lost in the event and Cesar isn't going to make any more because he doesn't wan to ruin the world again.

So what do we do?

"We do the right thing." I let the Boogie Pack fall from my back as I kneel with my hands in the dirt of Abysus's ground, my head bent down so I'm staring at grains of moon-colored sand.

I hear him inhale a sharp breath as I reach up for my earwig. "Go, Holiday."

There's no response, but she knows.

Van Kleiss's face darkens, and he knows.

We all know.

It's the instant feeling of life ripping out of you, the immediate drag of cells pulling out of you and redirecting themselves to a certain point. The whole thing is just terrible, really. Your skin feels like it's peeling off. Your head feels like it's about to get ripped off. Brain exploding, body throbbing, skin burning. Microscopic molecules piercing flesh before dragging themselves through the air towards the magnet.

The magnet where Six is killing himself.

And it's not just that I'm still completely conscious. It's that I'm watching Van Kleiss fall, crippled by the sudden lack of nanites in his system. He's completely burned out. He feeds off of nanites. He'll die before I do, no doubt.

It's amazing what I think of when I'm about to die. I think that Van Kleiss'll die before me. Huh. Weird, right? It's kind of honest, kind of upsetting. Maybe I'm just trying to stay positive. While Six is dying. While I'm dying. While Holiday is killing us.

And it never occurred to me that I'd be killing all the other EVOs like me. Until now. When I'm thinking of stupid things. And suddenly it hurts a lot more than it should. Mentally. It hurts. It stings. It burns. Painful burning. So much pulling. My skin is pulling off, my head is throbbing, and my body is completely curling in on itself like a star collapsing after an explosion.

Circe's probably feeling this same pain right now. The collapsing, the ripping, the tearing, the shredding, the searing.

Tuck too. And Cricket. Can't forget Sqwydd. They're all dying just the same as I am. Not in fire, not in ice, but in nanites and magnets, ripping us apart molecule by molecules. Because the nanites make us. The nanites control us. The nanites _are_ us.

Then there's Bobo, the Twins, so many others… Quarry, Breach, Biowulf.

Everyone is dying.

Except for the uninfected.

My face hits the dust, but I'm still conscious, still breathing. Barely. My body doesn't function well with nanites. Everything feels tight, it's like it's just closing in on itself, like everything is falling apart while pulling together, taut like a bowstring. I'm dying by falling apart and pulling together. What an oxymoron.

We're all dying.

"Rex?" asks Holiday's quiet, crying voice through the earwig. I can hear her talking. I can still hear. I can still feel. Feel my body ripping apart and caving in at the same time. My lungs are heavy; my brain is throbbing.

I guess I'm happy that the last thing I hear is her voice. I mean, we're saving the world from more mutations and more messes. We're saving them all. Even if it means killing our own. Saving Noah. Saving Annie. Saving Claire. Saving all of them. Saving the human race.

"I'm so sorry, Rex." She's crying. She's probably watching Six die right now. I can imagine the tears on her face and the fear in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

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><p><strong>AN: I know this strayed away from the whole "Written in the Sand" plot, but I'm now kind of looking at theories as a whole. There's only so much I can do on the basis of that one episode… So… review?**

**~Sky**


	11. Leave If You Want

**A/N: Had this done for a little while nao, but I got it ready at last. Posting nao. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Seriously. I don't.**

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><p><strong><span>Leave If You Want<span>**

It was his usual voice, calm, collected, steady. "You can leave if you want." Dark eyes that should've been filled with tears of hopelessness or fires of an angry Hell were as emotionless as stone. He should've been angry or heartbroken. It was worse because he knew he should've felt something. He knew it should hurt; he knew how raw his heart should feel, like a dagger had just been shoved through his chest.

Yet he didn't miss the flicker of surprise in Rex's brown eyes. "Really, Six?" he asked, his voice breaking only the slightest bit as he tried to put up a his happy defenses. A transparent smile and lifting his head to seem confident. He was not confident. "I can go?"

"You're family." He wished he were referring to himself. All these years and it only hit him now that he'd come to love that damn kid like a son. All those wasted years…"By law, you should have been under Cesar's custody since the event." He avoided saying "your parents' deaths" because it just wasn't the right thing to say. He may have been emotionless, but he wasn't a heartless beast.

Hurt. Yes, that was how he felt. He knew it right away, but admitting to missing Six was like saying he had never loved Holiday. It was impossible. He would miss Six. They shared swords for crying out loud! He was almost wondering how this was happening.

All these years... Six had been his father. Six had saved him from the rubble of his own destruction. Six had brought him back to Providence after every screw up. Six was the one who covered for him whenever he was out on one of his many escapades around the world, missions he shouldn't have been on in the first place. And Six was the one who allowed Bobo to stay out of the cage once Rex had let him free.

But why wasn't he keeping him here? He was a weapon and a savior. He was both a cure and a disease. He was hope, he was death. Six would want to keep him, right? Six wouldn't just let him go... would he?

"Yeah," breathed Rex, running a gloved hand through his naturally spiky hair. He almost let out a disappointed sigh, but managed to catch himself at the last second. "Yeah, that's true." He didn't really know what he was saying. He just wanted to know why Six would let him leave like this...

"Holiday said Cesar can take care of all your biometrics." Realistically, Six didn't trust Cesar enough to even loan him a cell phone, let alone his chi- partner. "Cesar is fully capable of taking care of you just as we did here." Did. Past tense. Like he was already gone. "Being with your brother may help you remember your past."

Rex was quiet. The whole time he'd been here, he'd wanted answers to who he was, what had happened to him, where he'd come from. Now he was leaving to discover himself only to realize he didn't want to go. But his father, his own father, was forcing him out, kicking him to the curb, letting him go without looking back.

"Yeah."

Six would not give the teenage EVO a hug goodbye. It wasn't his way. He would not say those words; they would lead to forever. He would stand there, wait for the destructive boy to leave, and then go to his room, sharpen his swords, and straighten his suits. Without Rex, what else was there really to do? No biometrics to run, no swindling monkeys to deal with, no hacking teenagers, no Noah, no Beverly, no Rex. Peace. A lonely peace. A lonely existence.

He still said nothing.

Rex, standing up to rise to his mentor's full height, grabbed the duffle bag that held his few things: a ball he used to throw against a wall, one of Noah's jackets, Holiday's red shoes, a bag of Bobo's toenail clippings, and the tanto Six had given him for his birthday just a few months ago, a sword that had said they would follow the same path. This was not the same path anymore. They were straying away from each other like clouds in the ocean of sky. "So I guess I'll see you around." He offered a shaky half-smile to the man he had come to love like a father. "I'll definitely come back to make sure Bobo doesn't con everyone here out of their cash." And to see his best friend and his mother-figure and his girlfriend... And Six. He would miss Six the most, he decided, growing quickly depressed at the thought of having to miss his soccer mom sidekick.

Six said nothing, but watched behind his dark shades as the EVO went out towards his brother's ship that would whisk him away so they could travel to different houses and help him regain his memories of his life before Providence. He would not say goodbye. Goodbye means forever.

Rex, realizing solemnly that his ninja nanny wasn't going to speak, turned his back on the dark-haired man in his forest green suit and listened for the sound of emerging words. He was out the door a few steps later and nothing had been said.

But he almost could've sworn he'd heard a tanto slide out of a sheathe. And he smiled. Just for a moment. Because Six had promised they would follow the same path. His sword had been a promise.

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><p><strong>AN: It looked longer on my iPod. But there you go. So… review now? You should know where to find the button.**

**~Sky**


	12. As the World Keeps Spinning

**A/N: I know it's WAY late, but I couldn't find time to just sit down and write out a mega scene like this. So here you go. The overdue chapter that I've been promising.**

**Sidenote: Concept hit me like a ton of bricks. Title was a bit harder. Then I came up with it. And tied it back to a song. Lyrics are a lil' somethin' like "So try to look in my eyes/And tell me you're not surprised". I'll give you the artist at the end if I can think of it. Also, set prior to "Six Minus Six". I mean, set in the future, but minus the events in that specific episode.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. At all.**

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><p><strong>As The World Keeps Spinning<strong>

The Keep hovered over the desert wasteland of Abysus. Rex watched through windblown goggles as Providence soldiers in their crisp white and black uniforms dropped from the craft into the barren world below. Ropes tied them to the ship until they were low enough to unhook and fall onto the cracked earth close to the Nanite Keeper's castle. The Hispanic teen gave a quick look back to Holiday, who shot him a quick thumbs-up, and then the EVO dropped from the Keep to fight with his comrades.

At nearly the same time, a small, cylindrical ship shot from a larger port in the bottom of the Keep, Cesar's tiny lab dropping down with a warrior and a scientist inside. The Hispanic scientist looked to Six, the green-suited ninja holding onto a counter and other grounded items for dear life. Of course Cesar didn't kick in the actual flight part of the craft until they'd nearly been smashed into pieces on the ground.

Wings shot out of Rex's back as the Boogie Pack spread out behind him. The whirring of the rotating blades was music to his ears as the fierce winds began to spray dust at his face. He could taste war in the air. A smile planted itself on his features. Finally. They were taking the fight to Van Kleiss. At last. Cesar had been smart enough to take the initiative to insist that Providence take out their enemy once and for all instead of waiting for something to happen. Rex had been wishing for something like this all along. A reason to ruin his rival once and for all. He dove down and flew over the heads of the troops as they marched towards the dirt castle surrounded by thick vines and black stone figures. This was the fight he'd been waiting for.

"You think they'll be alright?" asked Bobo, loading his weapons into their holsters while holding onto the rope. His one good eye was scanning below for Cesar's soaring lab and for the familiar orange of Rex's machines.

"I'm not waiting around to find out." Holiday had already grabbed onto her own rope, wrapped her legs around it, and, with a gun in her lab coat, had begun the plummeting descent to the world of Abysus below. She wasn't going to wait around to see bodies come back rather than going out there and protected her boys herself. Besides, she knew how to pack heat just as the other soldiers did. What was the difference on the field? They'd stop Van Kleiss either way.

Bobo dropped soon after, his toes clinging to the rope as his arms stretched down into the empty air below, one holding onto his fez as the other was at his waist, ready to grasp his weapon when necessary.

Rex was the first to reach the fortress. The Boogie Pack was sucked back into his back, the machine vanishing as fast as it had appeared. He peeled the goggles from his mahogany eyes and watched as the rest of the troops march in like the commander would of his soldiers. Sadly, Knight was prisoner in his nanite-free room.

Cesar's lab landed nearby just as the warriors were nearing the castle, the thrumming of rhythmic footsteps making the ground shake like an earthquake. Six was the first one out; he didn't even bother to use the elevator. Jumping seemed easier for someone so adapted to ninja-like moves. Katanas slid out of his sleeves. "You ready?" he asked his partner, eyes behind the glasses looking over the boy to be sure he was prepared for anything they would come up against in that house of horrors that Van Kleiss called a home.

The elevator to Cesar's lab hissed as it lowered him to the ground. With a victorious glint in his eyes, he patted his weapon and gave a confident, "I'm ready!" He knew the question was not directed at him. He drew his magnetic weapon, a little shock zapping off the end of it into the air between the three.

"Me too." Smirking, he pulled his goggles down again, nodded to his partner, and let the Punk Busters unleash themselves, replacing his legs. "So let's get this show on the road!" With one massive leap, he was on the hill leading up to the fortress, malice glowing in his brown-tinted orbs.

After shooting a brief, unseen glare at Cesar, Six followed his apprentice on swift feet, tie flying over one shoulder as he moved with the speed of Hermes. His katanas had been sharpened the night before; Six was ready for anything.

Cesar stood and waited until all the troops had moved past him. They were in rows of five and there were at least twenty columns. Yet he couldn't help but think that a hundred of these trained Providence fighters couldn't stop the forces about to be unleashed inside this castle. He moved forth, slowly and steadily, watching as even Bobo and Holiday surged through the ranks of Providence agents to get to the frontlines.

Biowulf was the first to show up in the corridors of the fortress. He howled out an alarm only to have a Punk Buster slam him to the floor. Rex continued on, letting a row of agents and Six carry out the rest of that battle. He had retreated to his Rex Ride and was zipping down the halls with blood boiling in his veins; he had bigger fish to fry, Van Kleiss in particular.

Silver blades slashed out, scraping metallic skin and leaving mere marks on the cybernetic body. It was scarcely a dent. The half-machine, half-dog creature stood back up, and, with a roar, unleashed his claws upon Six, talons against katanas. The ninja kept up his slashing, dodging claws here and there, only taking a set of five bloodied marks across one pale cheek. Rage building, he fought harder.

Holiday rushed past, watching as her hero and approximately ten of Providence's warriors took on the one lone wolf. She moved on at Bobo's call of "Doc, this way!" She wasn't fighting for Six. She was fighting for Providence. Move along.

Vibrant ruby and ebony portals ripped out of thin air and swallowed about half of the army that had been marching through Abysus. Rows and columns of men vanished with just a swipe of a gateway into what could be another dimension, another time, or another country. Or maybe she was just dumping them all outside the castle. All they could do was be swallowed. A few screamed. Sometimes a splash could be heard as uniformed men fell into oceans or lakes around the world. More than once, Holiday thought she could hear the raging roar of fire on the other side of the portal. She kept her goal in mind and kept moving forward.

Eyes ablaze and blood roaring in his ears, Rex let the Rex Ride fall away and instead let the Boogie Pack shoot out of his back as a portal ripped open in front of him and the horrible eyes of Breach stared out, beckoning him to be sucked in, to die a terrible death at her merciless hands. He soared over the portal and let the surviving agents take her out, the blasts of a few stray guns seeping into the hole and making the girl inside shut it quickly before a shot clipped her.

Another ripped open and sucked a few more of the Providence agents inside. A few more screams came loose and a few splashing deaths were relished as the four-armed girl stepped out of another crimson hole in the fabric of space and time. "So long," she breathed with that creepy voice before taking a quick shot in the back that had been delivered from the barrel of Bobo Haha's favorite toy: his gun, of course.

"So long to you too!" he hooted as she crumpled. He leapt over her unconscious body and followed his friend towards the head honcho of Abysus. No way was the chimp going to miss out on this one. The final fall of Van Kleiss… His yellowed teeth were bared as a smile touched his furry features.

Holiday trudged on, perfectly aware of Breach's barely breathing body and of how she'd left Six behind two halls to the left, three rights and a left back and how she'd last seen him a minute and twenty-two seconds ago. He could've been dead by now for all she knew.

A diamond shard stabbed into her shoulder; the doctor dropped like a ton of bricks at the sudden pain that coursed through her system. The heavy stone had pierced her skin and shattered a bone at the least, possibly both in her upper arm. Her other arm, the good one, raised the gun she'd kept in her lab coat and shot bullets at the target: Skalamander. Her vision was a tad fuzzy from the burning tears and the sudden loss of blood, but she carried on.

The bullets ricocheted off the monster's tough as nails skin. One left a wound along his leg that seeped blue blood. He gave a hideous roar and raised a crystalline fist to shoot out more of the jade-tinted diamonds at the onslaught of still-coming opponents. About ten of the hundred warriors were left; they fired their weapons, casings shooting out of the cartridge and onto the stone and dirt floors. Few penetrated his hardened green skin, but many of the Providence combatants took crystals in the chest and legs. They all dropped like flies.

Bobo, who had slipped past after Holiday had gone down, held his red weapon to the back of the beast's ugly head. When the monster's eye had been focused on the warriors at hand, the chimp had taken the liberty of putting a nice laser into the EVO's face. At point-blank, the massive body lurched and a groan was emitted before the beast went down, slamming into the stone ground and making the earth shudder beneath his weight.

With a quick move, Bobo was down and checking on Holiday. He took off his little red fez and pressed it around the massive diamond that still embedded itself in her shoulder. "I gotcha, Doc." He looked over his shoulder at the quickly disappearing form of Rex like a fading blip on the radar. He was going in to face the beast all alone. The primate looked back towards the hallways where they'd left Six facing Biowulf, hoping that the assassin would come out and go save Rex from getting killed.

Biowulf had dropped, heavy body shivering under the last blow that Six had scraped out of him. Two of the agents still remained beside him, the others just beaten and bruised bodies, victims of war. He touched the earwig and tried to call to Rex. "Rex, where are you?" There was no response, just static fizzing in his ear. "Rex?" When no response came, he hissed and motioned for the two remaining fighters to follow him. They did.

The corridors twisted and turned, but Six's eyes remained on the prize: finding Van Kleiss and ripping his throat out. The man didn't stop until he had come across Cesar. The man was standing there with the magnetic device. A quirky smile had planted itself on his cold, crisp, straight-line lips. "Six." His finger pushed the button.

Splintering, splitting, earth-shattering pain shot through Six like someone had just stabbed a dagger of agony into his soul. He let out a crisp, broken cry; his hands clasped his head, and he fell down, shoulder hitting the cold ground first. It felt like everything was about to fall apart, that the world was shattering around him, tearing at the seams, that reality was ripping itself apart-

Rex caught sight of the EVO on his throne, a mound of molded dirt and mud. Machines pulled back into his body as he watched the king of Abysus rise to his feet, terror in his eyes. "Rex," breathed the king, horror evident in his cold, scared voice, "what have you done?" He swallowed down his fear, body stiff with the realization of what the teen had wrought upon him.

"I brought my army," said the kid, voice cocky as the BFS ripped out of his shoulder, the tip of the blade rotating on the axis at maximum speed. "That's what I did." A smirk appeared on his tanned features, dark eyes glimmering with victory already. He could see the panic on Van Kleiss's face.

"Rex." The man's eyes came back after a quick search of the premises with his plants and nanites. "You don't understand what you've done." His breathing was harsh and his mouth was a straight, tense line. "You brought your brother."

One of Rex's brows quirked in confusion, the confidence that had consumed him suddenly fading like fog at dawn. "What about Cesar?"

"The doc needs help," said Bobo, looking up to the elder Salazar. He'd tried to keep the dark-haired woman from bleeding out, but Holiday had already fallen unconscious, and the chimp was torn between the lady and his friend. Bobo was completely aware of how dire a situation Rex was in with facing Van Kleiss all alone. "Can you take care o' her? I gotta go help Re-"

The sonic sound reverberated through his skull, sending searing pain through his body. The monkey cringed and took his furry hands away from Rebecca's bleeding form and tried to keep his brain from exploding inside his skull. A howl of pain, an animalistic scream, erupted from Bobo, and he fell to his side. The blackness consumed him after that.

Holiday was lucky she was already unconscious.

Cesar moved on.

"Your brother is the reason behind the event, Rex." The severity in the king's voice was harsh and scolding. "He turned you into a monster; he's the reason you can't remember anything." His dark eyes glared and yet held a fear deeper than anything imaginable. Cesar would be the death of him. Today would be his final day. Van Kleiss just knew. "He has no limit, can't you see that?"

"Why should I believe you?" asked the teen, a grimace pulling his mouth taut. "You've always lied to me!"

"Because it's not just my life at stake here, Rex!" This was the first time the EVO had ever seen desperation in his enemy. "We're both going to die if we do not stop him together! He's going to kill us all!"

Rex took a moment, considering his options. Van Kleiss… had been generally unreliable. But Cesar… was a little messed up. Both were questionable, but for some reason, Rex's faith seemed to lie in the king of Abysus. With a sharp intake of air, he turned and pushed a finger into his earwig. "Six, do you copy?"

No response.

He tried again. "Six?"

Static. Emptiness.

"Doc, you there?"

There was nothing from Holiday either.

One last attempt. "Bobo?"

Silence.

Footsteps came from the hall, sharp and fast. "Rex," said Cesar's voice as the elder Salazar appeared from the shadows like Death himself. In his hand was his little magnetic device, finger hovering over the button, a cobra ready to strike. "It's good to see you left some of Kleiss for me to help with." He gave his brother a charming smile.

A dark dirty seed of suspicion was already planted in Rex's mind. He kept his sword out; it was aimed at his brother rather than his opponent. "Yeah. He said he wanted to see you." Part of him was panicking over Six and the others, but this was the present, this was now. He couldn't be worried about his adopted family when the present moment had his own life on the line.

It was fast when black vines stabbed their way into the open air under Van Kleiss's control. They aimed blows at the scientist only to be swiftly dodged with ninja-like moves. Cesar jumped over one, ducked under another, and took one quick step backwards to dodge the third. And he began to move forward, weapon held up in his hand like a torch ready to set the witch's stake on fire.

More vines jolted out of the earth to be dodged. It was when Van Kleiss and Cesar were a mere yard away from each other that the button was finally pressed.

A scream ripped from the EVO, and he dropped to his knees, fear radiating from his bones, his scream pained. Agony seared through his body, burning his limbs and veins. Such a frequency- He lay dead a moment later.

Rex, not as close, had been hit with a bit of the aftershock of it. He'd heard the magnetic forces in his nanites and felt them ripping at his insides. The Omega-1 had reacted violently by creating more and more nanites to kept itself safe, to divert the magnetic pull; Rex had felt it. His eyes like a fire's dying embers watched as his brother kicked the EVO king's body to make sure that life had been ended. The teen watched as his brother turned on his heels and began to move towards his brother.

"Your turn."

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**

**P.S. I think the song I mentioned at the top A/N was by NJATA… Jsyk.**


	13. In On It

**A/N: I wanted to curl up and get this done. Another chapter of this needed to be written. Especially with what's comin' up tonight! I heard Six is off doin' his own thing. An amnesiac Six doin' his own thing sounds a little bit scary if you ask me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong><span>In On It<span>**

His usually busy fingers scraped across her desk as his deep brown eyes raked across the now black room. The enclosed space felt like it would make a good office for the new head of Providence. He even sat down in her desk for a long moment, watching the door as he waited for it to slide open, waiting for the woman to come back in to see him.

Was it coincidence that he was the only one still with Providence after Rex's disappearance? No, not at all. He folded his hands behind his head and kicked his feet up on the desk, still watching the door as pure bliss radiated from the cold and quiet of the space around him. The darkness was so welcoming.

Six had left under strict orders. His background made some of Providence sound too sketchy. And after all the things White Knight had done to screw up the organization, the new queen had decided to knock the agent down from his post. She'd let him go only two weeks into her new reign.

It was a relief for Cesar. Less that he had to deal with. He didn't have to touch any of it with a ten-foot pole. He'd always felt the suspicion prickling off of the green-suited man. It was better now that he didn't have to deal with it. And it was peaceful without having to watch everything he did, worried that the ninja would be watching over his shoulder every step of the way.

Black Knight had released Holiday just as fast. The doctor had been insisting to use all the Providence agents to search for Rex all the time. All EVO activity had been pushed to the back of her mind. Her heart was set on finding Rex, her lost son. Holiday had been warped in a matter of minutes after hearing that Rex was gone. She was ready to lose herself in her work to find him again. It was only days later, and she hadn't slept. Her fingers had been working incessantly across a battered and bruised keyboard, searching through all of time and space for any signs of the teen lost to a golden portal.

After finding the doctor unconscious in her lab, Black Knight had made Six take her elsewhere until she had rested up, and then the man had been ordered to tell her of her release from Black Knight's organization.

Cesar hadn't seen her again after that.

The only one that was still around was Bobo Haha. The chimp was in the barracks with the other agents, still playing cards, still swindling cash out of the men who didn't understand his methods. His rank had been lowered. He was no real threat to Black Knight's control. And it was better to keep one of Rex's familiars around in case he did happen to survive Breach's wrath. Six was gone, Holiday was gone, and Bobo was the one who didn't seem to mind these changes. As long as he was fed and clothed, that was all the chimp needed. He was simple. He was allowed to stay.

The clicking of heels echoed from outside the door. Cesar let a smile crawl across his face as he heard the smooth voice of the queen speak with her guards. It only took a second for the door to slide open and for her to saunter in, cape flowing out behind her, rippling like dark water. "Cesar," she mused, relaxing once the door shut tight. Her heels continued to click as she began to glide across the floor, her wardrobe blending into the darkness. "It's good to see you again."

Between work and play, they never had a chance to spend time together like they wanted. Cesar was always building another machine, working to track Rex and keep the twerp from interfering. Black Knight was constantly working to prevent uprisings within the organization. Without White Knight's strict control, she was watching the men and women in their white uniforms begin to question authority, begin to wonder how someone they'd never heard of had taken over this organization before they could step in. Anyone knew that Six had a higher rank than whoever this woman was. Six would have rightfully been the one in charge had the queen not stepped in and taken charge.

Breath catching in his throat, Cesar felt the woman circle around the back of the chair, her claw-like fingers raking through his hair playfully. Her words were in his ear. "Is there any sign of Rex yet?"

This was the endless question. For some reason, it made Cesar grow tired of this fruitless routine. He would sit in her office, play at her desk, sift through her things, and wait. When she came, she would first ask about Rex. Then she would begin to toy with him right back, playing with his naturally spiky hair, whispering words in his ear all too seductively. Then, someone would come in asking for Black Knight and she would leave him alone at the desk once again, his nerves frayed, his frustration growing. She was always gone, he was always alone. And yet she asked about Rex before anything else.

"Nothing yet," he responded, reaching back and taking hold of the cape where it passed her neck. "But he is not important right now. He's gone, and we should take advantage of the quiet within the organization."

"I should be taking more control," she said softly, prying his fingers away from the fabric and standing up straight again. With one swift motion, she was perched on her desk and his feet were back on the floor. "Providence needs a better leader. Better than White Knight ever was."

Some parts of his life would always be more frustrating than others. "It's quiet, Knight," he told her, voice smooth and gentle. "You should be taking advantage of everything. If Rex does come back, you'll need more control over the situation. You'll be involved in every life here, especially his."

Something quite like a cat's purr came from within her. "You think I shouldn't waste the time I have in his absence."

Finally, Cesar had come to a breakthrough with the queen of Providence. "That's exactly what I'm saying." He spun the chair so that he was staring up into her dark eyes through the curtain of black hair. One hand reached up and cupped her chin, his eyes growing soft, melting like chocolate.

"I can only thank you for my new schedule." She leaned down, watching how he seemed to grow numb to the surrounding world. His eyes were only on her, and she knew it. It was something she had always taken advantage of. "You were the one to get White Knight out of here in the first place." A smile graced her hauntingly dark features. "And then you got me in."

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><p><strong>AN: Because we so know there'd be sexual tension with Black Knight and Cesar in that six month period. That, and I wanted Cesar to be part of this new reign.**

**Review?**

**~Sky**


	14. Taking Sides

**A/N: Another snippy short. Set after "Heroes United" (which was the greatest episode ever).**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own. And yeah, bad chapter title. My brain just went to mush this time…**

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><p><strong><span>Taking Sides<span>**

"Do you think he's watching out for me?"

Six rolled over on his cot, looking across the small room that they shared to the EVO teen on his own cot on the other side of the room, a mere five feet away. The new accommodations weren't ideal and there were many rooms left to clear out, leaving very little living space. A kitchen had been established as well as a lab and other necessities, where as bedrooms had been divided by men, women, and Bobo. "Who?" asked the ninja quietly, brown eyes barely making out the shape of the teen under the blankets in the dark room.

"Cesar." There was the rustling of blankets and the groaning of the cot as Rex shifted to see his mentor better. "I know he's fighting on the wrong side, but he doesn't seem too dedicated to working with Black Knight. I mean, he ditched Providence to come help us with Alpha."

Holiday had caught Six up on the basics and given the initial rundown of Alpha's powers and what all Cesar had done in the time that Six was trapped in his coma. He knew the basics of what Cesar had done and wished that he had been awake to see more. Of course, he was just glad to be awake...

"Rex, you have to keep in mind that that may have been more of a personal matter than focusing on you versus Black Knight. He does need to take care of his own skin by dealing with Alpha before anyone else. It could've been just covering his own bases."

More shifting. And a shaft of moonlight caught Rex's tanned face, which was now twisted with a bit of pain, a bit of longing. Six could easily read this; he'd known the kid far too long.

Six continued quietly, trying not to break the gentle silence. "But just the same, he did get the Omega-1 out of Alpha before taking him down and sending him off to the parallel universe."

The corners of Rex's lips bent downwards, a frown crossing his already sad face. He moved his head towards the wall, looking away from his mentor. "Yeah, but he was looking for the Omega-1 instead of me when he got back, remember? That could've been because he wanted to keep the Omega-1 safe instead of giving it to me." His words sounded bitter and cold.

"If you want to believe in him, go ahead." Six wasn't about to crush the teen's hopes of having a normal family and keeping his brother. "He may still care about you underneath all the crazy."

A brief snort cut through the quiet. "Because that explains why he tried to collar me like any other EVO. He zapped me with his gun thing and tried to control me, Six."

"So I heard." There were many people on Six's hit list right now, but Cesar was easily at the top. Killing Cesar would make the war between Providence and this new agency fade away because he was the only tension left. Once the controlling machines were toasted and Cesar was gone, things could go back to the way they once were.

"I always wanted a brother." Rex swallowed hard and rolled over, completely facing the wall now. "You wouldn't remember all the times I asked if I had a brother and you never answered me because you didn't know. It sucked, but now I know. And I have so many things I want to know, but I don't know what's truth and what's his general spew of crazy."

Six wished he could remember... He'd practically raises this kid and suddenly they were strangers in a dark room, the child talking, the man offering empty words. "He does seem eccentric." What else was there to say? Six didn't know what all was going on or exactly what Rex was getting at. He only wanted to help, to become the man that he'd been before.

"He's my brother, and yet he's tried to kill me twice now." There was a slight growl. He shifted some more, the cot groaning. "Figures. I finally get something that I want, and then it turns out evil. But hey, this time it's my own brother, my only family left. Just great." Sarcasm hung in his words.

"He helped you with Alpha." Comfort was all he was trying to offer. He wasn't the happiest sort of person, but he could at least offer some help.

"Only after trying to kill me." Rex's cot made no more noise. The blankets didn't rustle. A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips and he said, "But then again, he always could've been under Black Knight's orders and afraid of losing his position..." An angry groan came from him. "I just wish I knew who to trust. That's why I'm so glad to have you, Six."

Trust was key. It was something earned, not given. And somehow, the past Six had earned this boy's trust, but the post-amnesia Six felt like he was taking advantage of something sacred between his old self and this poor teen. But he was still the same person...

"I know I can always trust you, Six," continued the EVO. "I've known you my whole life, or at least what little of it I can remember. I may have known Cesar for longer, but I can't remember any of it. You're more important to me than he'll ever be." There was a slight pause and a hitch in his breathing, just barely loud enough for Six to hear, before he added, "That's why I'm so scared to lose you."

His eyes closed for a long moment. He hadn't earned this trust, this bond, this friendship. Whatever he'd done to deserve this, he wished I knew what he'd done to become such an idol in this boy's life.

The room was quiet for a long moment, and finally Rex said, "If Cesar died tomorrow, I'd be alone, but I'd still have you." There was a pause again. "And I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you."

Six watched Rex's chest rising and falling for a long moment and could faintly make out the outline of his spiky black hair in the all-encompassing darkness. He was guilty; he was taking advantage of his past life, of years he couldn't remember. He wanted so badly to learn why Rex looked up to him so much.

Through the darkness came the teen's words. "Night, Six."

"Goodnight, Rex."

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**


	15. The Whole Truth

**A/N: Short chapter. I feel bad. My brain's been blank with theories lately XP**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rex's POV.**

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><p><strong><span>The Whole Truth<span>**

"Mijo!"

I turned, squinting against the sun's blaring light to see Cesar emerging from the exploding Keep. His face was smeared with ashes and stained with smoke, but a smile adorned his features, and he didn't seem so crazy in that moment of time. "Cesar?" Because I didn't believe it. He shouldn't have lived through it.

Before I knew what was happening, he had me in a tight hug, arms wrapped around me, one leathery, worn hand patting me on the back while a big smile laid plastered on his face. "Rex! I'm so glad you made it out of there alive!"

"I'm glad _you _made it out of there alive," I breathed back, holding onto his shoulder just to know for sure that he was there, that he wasn't leaving. My breath caught in my throat for a second as I realized he could've been killed and I would've been the last Salazar left. Being that alone in the world...

He pulled away, dark eyes serious as he watched me. "Mijo, I'm sorry that I had to do that, letting that EVO loose so that Black Knight would have to call you in."

"_You _let it loose? In the Keep?" I didn't know whether or not to believe what I was hearing. He sounded serious enough, but the mere thought of him doing something so crazy... didn't actually sound so impossible when I remembered it was Cesar instead of someone with a logical mind.

"I needed a distraction." His eyes grew slightly distant and cloudy with a fog of memories. "I had to get Black Knight away from the machine. Ever since you attacked it the last time, she's been protecting it at all hours, taking a few shifts herself so that she could be the one to take care of you in the end.

"But I had to set it loose to get all the agents on the move. They went into lockdown mode to contain it, trapping Black Knight, which was all I needed." He swallowed hard. "Then I took the machine, set it on self-destruct, made the announcement, and locked everything up, hoping you'd get yourself out at the least.

"I just wanted Black Knight and Providence out of your way so you and the others could run a proper organization without Providence hanging over you all the time. It's inconducive to your work."

And I didn't want to believe a word of it. When he'd locked down the Keep, it'd been the whole thing. There would be no other way our except for me. I'd used my nanites to override the lockdown on the doors I needed and escaped with the Boogie Pack into the daylight while the whole Keep was lost in a blast of flames and shrapnel behind me. It made me grateful that Holiday and Six hadn't argued when I said I wanted to go alone.

"But you wouldn't have gotten out." I felt the confusion cover my face. "Why did you lock yourself in too?" There was no logic behind that; then again, it _was _Cesar...

"Mijo, as long as you had gotten out, that was all I wanted." Again, my big brother clasped me into a huge hug, overwhelming, powerful, loving. "I nearly lost you once, and I don't want to lose you again."

Over his shoulder, as my brother held me for a few long moments, I watched another explosion rock the Keep, the earth shuddering beneath our feet. I watched as a few forms limped away from the blaze, one carrying a rag doll of a body.

He'd ruined Providence just to help us. He'd lost his job and his lab to help us. And he'd risked his own life. To help us.

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><p><strong>AN: Feels like a weak excuse for a chapter. I'm sorry guys…**

**~Sky**


	16. Sentence Me To Another Life

**A/N: Had this written before last night's episode but OH MAN, "Black and White" was EXCELLENT. Best episode yet, by far! I'll have tons of material for this just based off of that episode alone…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Chapter title inspired by lyrics of Paramore's "Ignorance".**

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><p><strong><span>Sentence Me To Another Life<span>**

"You!"

Emilio turned, his eyes finding a man with the longest hair he had ever seen. On a man, at least. He wiped the sweat off of his brow with a towel slung over his shoulder and set down his small shovel he'd been using to tend to the herbs at his stand. "What can I do for you, muchacho?" questioned the farmer as the sun beat down on his bare chest and back, bare skin leaking hot sweat.

"I need you to be someone else." His golden-tinged eyes were volatile to say the least, lit up with a dark fire of victory, his first true win in the war. The man straightened himself up from the jolting run over to the farmer through the thick crowds near the marketplace. Bodies had been pressed to bodies, the heat practically melting people together as one. Van Kleiss couldn't lose sight of his target, especially when he was too perfect to miss out on.

"Señor, are you sure you have not been out in the sun too long?" Worry crept across Emilio's face as he began to reach for his water bottle where it sat on top of a bale of hay near his stand. He pushed away some of the vegetables and other products at his stand to get to the bottle. "Here, drink some water, it will help." The man offered out the water, knowing he could ask one of his neighboring owners to watch his spot while he went to refill it in his little shack down the street.

With wary eyes, Van Kleiss used his metal hand to push away the offering. His eyes focused in on the man, taking in every detail with such intent that it quickly began to bother Emilio.

The man had brown eyes, a perfect match to the tone he wanted. His skin was a bit more tanned, but the EVO king figured he could find a way to fix that. Taking him out of the sun would be a complete necessity, not hard for the role he needed to fill. His hair looked naturally spiked; Kleiss couldn't fathom why a _farmer _would have gelled his hair that way. His overall build was muscular but not too terribly as to outshine his mirror image, the role he'd need to fill. Worst case scenario, be would find someone to make the minor adjustments necessary to be a Salazar. His age was even just about right, maybe a year or so off, but how much would the boy remember anyways?

"Señor?" asked Emilio, eyes looking beyond the seemingly normal man to the three approaching behind him, the three that looked bloodthirsty and battle-hungry. He backed up in order to make some space between himself and the three monsters only to find himself pinned to the wall behind him. His frantic brown eyes looked for assistance; the vendors on either side of him had disappeared, their stock still lying on their stands, free for the taking.

There was a girl in a pretty skirt, ebony hair covering her face and shielding her sea-foam green eyes from the bright, hot Mexico sunshine. From her shirt sprouted four arms, two large enough to rival the circumference of a tree trunk. The other two arms were seemingly small and fragile, a bit like the girl herself.

Beside the girl was a wolf, a large one. The metal jaw was menacing enough but the red eyes made Emilio's heart pound harder in his chest until he could hear his blood roaring in his ears and the pounding of tribal drums in his ears. Un lobo diablo.

Then there was green monster, spikes cutting out of one hand. It's twisted head was grotesque enough to make anyone cringe. His skin was disgusting, scaly and slimy at the same time. The one eye Emilio could see was glaring, but at least it wasn't red.

It did take him a few minutes to realize that these three were with the strange man with the metal arm. EVOs, he recalled. He'd never seen any up close despite how his cousins had been murdered by the beasts, a big metal one in particular. A few weeks ago, really. Their whole village had been destroyed as well. An EVO had been a threat to his family so very recently and now three (No, four! The man's hand was made of _metal_!) were showing up at his stand and offering him something that he had yet to completely comprehend.

The long-haired man leaned across the wooden plank that formed the top of the stand. His golden eyes gave a victorious glimmer. "Sir, I only need to teach you to be someone else. It may take many years, but you will be helping mankind by joining us, by training to be someone else."

Helping mankind was mainly what caught Emilio's eye. His dark brown gaze leveled with that of the ringleader of the EVO bunch. He leaned across as well, his mind considering the offer. "What kind of deal are we talking here?"

With no family other than cousins and the likes of that, he has no real reason to stay in his tiny rural town. Getting out into the world would change his life, give him good experiences to live with. He was willing to leave his home and pitiful farm work behind to benefit mankind.

"You'll be able to live in a little place called Abysus with us. It's warm and calm, nothing to worry about. You'll be fed and taught. The only request is that you help us with a mission." He was cinching the deal right here. "You just need to learn to be someone else."

Emilio smiled. He nodded almost imperceptibly, a sealed deal. "And who exactly do I need to be, Señor?" he questioned, eyes still boring into Van Kleiss's.

"Cesar Salazar."

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><p><strong>AN: Yes. There's another one for the books. Theory number whatever. Personally, I like this one.**

**Review?**

**~Sky**


	17. Monster

**A/N: Because the "Black and White" scene was cut far too short. There was so much more room for expounding… So expect a few chapters focusing on that scene and extending pieces of it.**

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

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><p><strong><span>Monster<span>**

"You're..." He was practically speechless, his jaw hanging open slightly as if it had completely unhinged. The sheer horror of what was going down within the very facility he stood in was earth shattering. "You're restarting... the Nanite Program?"

Cesar reached out and put a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder. He was immediately shrugged off as his brother stepped away, out of reach. He had to stoop down to his brother's less-advanced level and try to make him see it through different eyes. "Rex, you have to understand-"

Part of him had snapped at the thought of restarting the program when White Knight had said it, but hearing it from the horse's mouth was a completely different story. Rex didn't need to let this sink in; he knew what his brother had done to begin with. Cesar had already mentioned being a part of the nanite program, but now he'd confessed to causing the world's worst disease, to destroying millions of lives, to unleashing chaos on the innocent... And Rex just about lost it.

Out of his right arm came the BFS, and it moved close to Cesar, pressing on his throat with the razor-sharp blade. He knew how to be careful, but on the same note, he knew how to be violent. "More than once, my nanites have nearly killed me!"

The elder Salazar felt the pressure on his neck and stayed as still as he could. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife. He could only plead, "Rex-"

"Nanites _killed _our parents!"

It stung like a fresh wound, the memory of what they'd lost in the tragedy of saving the world. Their parents for the universe, such an unfair trade. Cesar swallowed hard, guilt settling into his chest and digging a deep, empty hole there. He would never forget how the program shattered their family, separating brothers and murdering parents. "Please, Rex-"

"The program that you're now heading-" His mahogany eyes flared with anger so fierce that the fires of Hades couldn't even compete. "-made me forget who I was! It ruined my life!"

It was many lives, yes, but compared to what could have happened with the Consortium, Cesar considered the Nanite Event something of a blessing for the world. Millions of lives ruined, not just Rex's, for the greater good of all humanity. It was like war but with less-willing sacrifices. It stopped the meta-nanites, that was all that mattered to Cesar. He knew the consequences of his actions on both sides as well as which side would be saved in the long run.

"Yet you," hissed Rex through gritted teeth as he began to corner Cesar against one of the walls of his lab; he watched his brother squirm under the blade. "-want to keep this project of yours going. It could kill more, it could keep making more people into monsters, and it could just completely annihilate all of humanity, and you just don't care."

"Rex, I'm saving the world!"

"By using sacrifices and scapegoats." His voice was nearly feral, but Rex couldn't very well hear it over his hammering heart and the rush of blood in his ears. "You're trying to cure all disease by creating a whole new strand of sickness." His lips curled up in a bit of a snarl, disgust written across his features.

"If we hadn't caused the Nanite Event, the consequences could have been catastrophic on a much more disastrous level, Rex." He still felt the blade at his throat, but he could already feel his brother's resolute failing and see the blaze of rage bubbling down to merely simmer in his brown eyes. The initial anger was fading as quickly as it had appeared. "The entire universe and possibly other dimensions-"

"We don't hurt the innocent." The BFS was sucked back into his body, his nanites retreating to their natural state under his skin, hiding in their invisible place in the world, ruining lives everywhere. "That's where the line is drawn, Cesar. We can ruin ourselves, and we can ruin our enemies, but innocent people are off-limits. They have no part in this war." He moved to stick the USB into the port so he could retrieve the information on the new Nanite Program. He wouldn't look back at his brother; Cesar didn't deserve a second thought in Rex's eyes.

"The Consortium had us under their thumb, Rex, you must understand!" His words were breathless as he watched his once baby brother steal his work to take back to a lesser researcher. Holiday wouldn't understand the biometrics proposed with such circumstances; Rylander had more information than the woman could've ever conceived. "We had no choice but to sabotage the project!"

Hearing his brother confess yet again was another knife in his heart. His brother had ruined his life, made him loss his memory, killed their parents. He was... a monster. "Just stop." The download was complete. "I don't want to hear it anymore."

Cesar moved forward and grabbed the EVO teen's wrist, trying to hold him back. "Rex." There was still so much more he had to say: conspiracy theories, blackmail, the Metas, the God Code-

He ripped his hand away from his brother's, unable to even stand his touch. His fingers found the communicator in his ear while the other hand clutched the USB tightly, tendons in his hand taut. Rex's jaw was rigid when he said, "I got it." The cue to leave, to escape this prison, to exit the madhouse once and for all, to leave behind the demon running the show. They were no longer brothers, just people with a past and connected futures. Blood meant nothing when he was related to a monster.

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**


	18. God Save The Queen

**A/N: Oh, this one was fun… Complete opposite of the chapter "In On It".**

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.**

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><p><strong><span>God Save The Queen<span>**

He watched as she tore apart his lab, her men and their controlled EVOs- under _his_ equipment, from _his_research- move his things around and steal valuable data away from his sacred place. "Knight!" he called out, looking around at the mess and at the destruction she was causing; Rex and Bobo flooding the place a few months ago hadn't helped in the slightest, not to mention that they'd stolen information at the same time. "What are you doing to my lab?"

From her side of the room where she stood observing her men take Salazar's things, the woman merely stole a glance at the scientist before looking back at the work with her head held regally. "Cesar, you're smart enough to know what's going on." A thin, devious smile tickled her face, snaring her features in an evil grin.

"You're ruining my lab!" he whined, voice rising over the sound of shuffling feet and heaving bodies. He pushed his way towards the cloaked woman, his hands shaking. Too much change- How would they get it all back?- What data would be lost in the transfer?- His mind was whirling like a funnel cloud ready to touch down. "Call them off!"

As quick as it had come, her smile faded like the sun disappearing in an eclipse. Black Knight turned and blinked slowly, deliberately, as she began to pad towards him, the _click-clack_ing of her heels on the tile sounding only ominous in the setting of moving boxes and black-suited men. "Salazar, you're fully aware of the Consortium wants, which is exactly why you caused the Nanite Event to begin with."

He had confided in her to gain funding and trust, but he hadn't breathed a word of reasoning behind releasing the nanites onto the world's innocent. Any sense of hope faded from his mind. "Black Knight, you have no idea what you are doing. I have the cure for nanites, I'm only a few days away from finding the right algorithm to shut down the frequency that-"

"I don't care for your science anymore, Cesar." Disdain laced her words. A menacing glare shot from her eyes. "All Providence and the Consortium needed was a way to track down the metananites. You provided the right research for that, and anything beyond, a cure, more nanites, they're unimportant to us." She snapped her fingers and a pair of men in their black suits appeared at her sides. "You mean nothing to us anymore, Salazar. We have was we need. You're now… expendable."

The two men reached out, grabbing at his arms and holding onto him with rough hands.

He pulled and thrashed to no avail: they had him. "Black Knight, you have no idea what power you're giving to them. You cannot have been with them long enough to know the power they will have once they get the metas."

She rolled her eyes, disgusted by his ignorance. "They won't have the power of the metananites." She turned to look back at the men moving around, taking equipment and taking apart computers; even Rylander's chamber had been dismantled, his ghost evaporating into the empty air, his nanites dissipating into the room, into the Keep, into the world. "I will."

Cesar let his eyes narrow and his muscles tense despite the fact that he knew strong-arming these guys would never work. They were trained better than he ever would be. To find a way out of the situation would be near impossible. "You expect to be able to wield the power of the universe?" he scoffed before continuing, "Matter? Anti-matter? Do you even know what these things are, what powers you seek to control? You have no concept of what forces you're dealing with, Knight."

"I know I'm dealing with something you created, which is why I still need to keep you around. You aren't getting killed, Salazar. I still need you in case there are some firewalls that only a true scientist can unlock, but you will be… limited in what you're permitted to do around here. You'll be kept somewhere secure, where not even Rex will be able to find you." Black Knight smiled to herself and kept watching over the men; two began to disassemble one of his massive computers, taking the back off, then taking the screen to another room. "I only want the power so that the Consortium doesn't have it."

"I only unleashed all the nanites to keep the Consortium from having the metas." It was the first time he'd said it aloud. To Rex, it had been merely an inkling, an inference that his little brother would have to make, but now that it was out in the open, the words finally said, the Consortium was bound to find out. "If I can create the cure-"

"Then I won't have the power." A faint hiss hung onto her words, a sneer perched on her lips. "Cesar, I will create a new world with the power of the metas. I will rule like a queen over a new world, dispose of poverty, control with an iron fist, create something new, something fantastic." She turned and looked at him, her face twisted into something he thought he would never see in her; she looked _hopeful_. "Can't you see it? A brave new world under my rule, EVOs bowing down to my power, the whole world in a perfect harmony…"

One of the men at his sides had loosened his grip, his mind calmed by the thoughts of some sort of peace on the insane earth the Nanite Event had created. There would be no Providence soldiers, no wars to be won or lost, no dangers to prevent. It did sound appealing, even to Cesar, but he knew better than to believe in such lies, such impossibilities. No world could ever be as perfect as the one she envisioned under the powers of the metas.

He knew what he kept hidden under his jacket; he knew where all his weapons were. He wasn't fighting to protect his work, but he was fighting to keep someone dangerous from getting a hold of the metas. Black Knight was the worker bee for the Consortium. She was the body while they were the minds at work, the minds behind the big plan.

From under his jacket, Cesar drew his gun with one hand, deft and silent so not to alert the guard that was on task. He fingered the trigger and waited until Black Knight had turned to admire the workers again as they all followed her orders, obeying royalty.

It was one swift move; he jabbed his elbow into the calmer of the two guards that held him down. He pulled the weapon and pointed it at the purple-haired woman. Before the other man could notice, he smiled sadly and murmured, "God save the queen."

He pulled the trigger and a blast of blood erupted from the back of her skull.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I loved writing it, not gonna lie.**

**Review?**

**~Sky**


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